1967–68 Boston Celtics season

1967–68 Boston Celtics season
NBA champions
Head coach	Bill Russell
General manager	Red Auerbach
Arena	Boston Garden
Results
Record	54–28 (.659)
Place	Division: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions (Defeated Lakers 4–2)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WKBG
Radio	WHDH

The 1967–68 Boston Celtics season was their 22nd in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Celtics won their tenth title in franchise history. Notably, Bill Russell won the first title led by a player-coach in NBA history.

Draft picks

Main article: 1967 NBA draft

This table only displays picks through the second round.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	11	Mal Graham	PG	United States	NYU

Roster

Boston Celtics 1967–68 roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. From F/C 28 Embry, Wayne 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Miami (OH) PG 11 Graham, Mal 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) NYU G/F 17 Havlicek, John 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Ohio State SF 18 Howell, Bailey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Mississippi State PF 27 Jones, Johnny 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Cal State LA SG 24 Jones, Sam 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) North Carolina Central F 19 Nelson, Don 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Iowa C 6 Russell, Bill 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) San Francisco SF 16 Sanders, Satch 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) NYU C/G 20 Siegfried, Larry 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Ohio State G/F 12 Thacker, Tom 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Cincinnati PG 26 Weitzman, Rick 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Northeastern	Head coach Bill Russell Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Eastern Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Philadelphia 76ers	62	20	.756	–	27–8	26–12	9–0	29–11
x-Boston Celtics	54	28	.659	8	28–9	21–16	5–3	24–16
x-New York Knicks	43	39	.524	19	20–17	21–16	2–6	19–21
x-Detroit Pistons	40	42	.488	22	21–11	12–23	7–8	15–25
Cincinnati Royals	39	43	.476	23	18–12	13–23	8–8	18–22
Baltimore Bullets	36	46	.439	26	17–19	12–23	7–4	15–25

Record vs. opponents

1967-68 NBA Records
Team	BAL	BOS	CHI	CIN	DET	LAL	NYK	PHI	SDR	SFW	SEA	STL
Baltimore	—	3–5	2–5	5–3	4–4	3–4	3–5	0–8	7–0	2–5	5–2	2–5
Boston	5–3	—	5–2	3–5	6–2	4–3	6–2	4–4	7–0	4–3	6–1	4–3
Chicago	5–2	2–5	—	5–2	3–4	1–7	2–5	1–6	4–4	2–6	3–5	1–7
Cincinnati	3–5	5–3	2–5	—	4–4	1–6	3–5	3–5	7–0	4–3	6–1	1–6
Detroit	4–4	2–6	4–3	4–4	—	2–5	4–4	1–7	5–2	4–3	6–1	4–3
Los Angeles	4–3	3–4	7–1	6–1	5–2	—	4–3	2–5	7–1	4–4	4–4	6–2
New York	5–3	2–6	5–2	5–3	4–4	3–4	—	3–5	6–1	5–2	4–3	1–6
Philadelphia	8–0	4–4	6–1	5–3	7–1	5–2	5–3	—	6–1	4–3	7–0	5–2
San Diego	0–7	0–7	4–4	0–7	2–5	1–7	1–6	1–6	—	2–6	3–5	1–7
San Francisco	5–2	3–4	6–2	3–4	3–4	4–4	2–5	3–4	6–2	—	7–1	1–7
Seattle	2–5	1–6	5–3	1–6	1–6	4–4	3–4	0–7	5–3	1–7	—	0–8
St. Louis	5–2	3–4	7–1	6–1	3–4	2–6	6–1	2–5	7–1	7–1	8–0	—

Game log

1967–68 Game log
#	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	Record
1	October 14	Chicago	90–105	Larry Siegfried (20)	1–0
2	October 21	@ Baltimore	125–109	Sam Jones (31)	2–0
3	October 25	St. Louis	104–118	Sam Jones (25)	3–0
4	October 27	@ Detroit	128–109	John Havlicek (22)	4–0
5	October 28	Philadelphia	95–104	Sam Jones (23)	5–0
6	November 3	Los Angeles	104–105	Bill Russell (25)	6–0
7	November 4	@ St. Louis	104–111	Bailey Howell (27)	6–1
8	November 7	@ Cincinnati	113–103	John Havlicek (23)	7–1
9	November 9	@ Chicago	107–93	Sam Jones (23)	8–1
10	November 10	Baltimore	114–115	Sam Jones (39)	9–1
11	November 11	@ New York	105–110	Sam Jones (26)	9–2
12	November 14	N Seattle	111–114	Sam Jones (29)	10–2
13	November 15	San Francisco	110–113	Bailey Howell (27)	11–2
14	November 17	Cincinnati	120–119	Sam Jones (27)	11–3
15	November 18	@ Philadelphia	116–111	Howell, S. Jones (33)	12–3
16	November 21	N San Diego	114–121	Sam Jones (24)	13–3
17	November 22	San Diego	110–124	Sam Jones (26)	14–3
18	November 23	N Seattle	133–106	Bailey Howell (22)	14–4
19	November 25	@ Baltimore	118–126	Sam Jones (29)	14–5
20	November 28	Detroit	111–118	John Havlicek (24)	15–5
21	December 1	Los Angeles	119–123	Bill Russell (25)	16–5
22	December 2	@ Detroit	107–112	John Havlicek (24)	16–6
23	December 6	New York	113–115	Howell, S. Jones (27)	17–6
24	December 8	Baltimore	108–123	John Havlicek (25)	18–6
25	December 9	@ Cincinnati	104–108	Sam Jones (28)	18–7
26	December 14	Philadelphia	101–102	Larry Siegfried (20)	19–7
27	December 15	N San Diego	101–114	Sam Jones (27)	20–7
28	December 17	@ Los Angeles	123–117	Bill Russell (37)	21–7
29	December 19	@ Seattle	118–114	Larry Siegfried (20)	22–7
30	December 20	@ San Diego	126–116	Larry Siegfried (31)	23–7
31	December 22	Cincinnati	117–120	John Havlicek (27)	24–7
32	December 25	@ New York	134–124	Sam Jones (27)	25–7
33	December 26	San Francisco	117–104	John Havlicek (32)	25–8
34	December 27	@ St. Louis	113–116	Sam Jones (30)	25–9
35	December 29	@ Philadelphia	123–133	John Havlicek (24)	25–10
36	January 2	@ Chicago	84–95	Sam Jones (19)	25–11
37	January 3	@ Los Angeles	113–103	Bailey Howell (30)	26–11
38	January 5	N Seattle	128–121	Bailey Howell (25)	27–11
39	January 6	@ San Francisco	101–107	Satch Sanders (23)	27–12
40	January 10	Seattle	110–123	John Havlicek (25)	28–12
41	January 11	N Cincinnati	120–116	Bill Russell (34)	28–13
42	January 12	Detroit	126–148	Bailey Howell (28)	29–13
43	January 15	San Francisco	102–111	John Havlicek (28)	30–13
44	January 17	St. Louis	102–114	John Havlicek (35)	31–13
45	January 19	New York	114–120	Howell, S. Jones (31)	32–13
46	January 20	@ Baltimore	115–118	Sam Jones (38)	32–14
47	January 21	San Diego	112–139	Bailey Howell (31)	33–14
48	January 25	N St. Louis	105–93	John Havlicek (24)	33–15
49	January 26	Los Angeles	118–112	Sam Jones (27)	33–16
50	January 28	Philadelphia	103–115	Howell, S. Jones (29)	34–16
51	January 30	@ Philadelphia	118–125	Sam Jones (38)	34–17
52	January 31	Chicago	109–118	Bailey Howell (27)	35–17
53	February 2	Baltimore	99–120	Bailey Howell (25)	36–17
54	February 3	@ New York	112–108	Sam Jones (30)	37–17
55	February 4	New York	110–108	Bailey Howell (23)	37–18
56	February 7	St. Louis	101–102	Sam Jones (27)	38–18
57	February 9	Detroit	100–107	Sam Jones (24)	39–18
58	February 11	Los Angeles	141–104	Tom Thacker (17)	39–19
59	February 13	@ Detroit	127–115	Sam Jones (31)	40–19
60	February 14	N Detroit	96–118	John Havlicek (31)	41–19
61	February 16	@ Chicago	124–108	John Havlicek (26)	42–19
62	February 17	@ St. Louis	113–99	Bailey Howell (25)	43–19
63	February 18	@ Cincinnati	100–107	Sam Jones (24)	43–20
64	February 20	Cincinnati	110–126	Bailey Howell (25)	44–20
65	February 21	@ Los Angeles	117–122	Bill Russell (24)	44–21
66	February 23	@ San Francisco	122–127	Satch Sanders (25)	44–22
67	February 24	N Seattle	137–141	John Havlicek (38)	45–22
68	February 26	@ San Diego	118–110	Bailey Howell (28)	46–22
69	February 28	San Francisco	110–135	John Havlicek (41)	47–22
70	March 1	Chicago	87–94	Bailey Howell (18)	48–22
71	March 3	Philadelphia	133–127	Bailey Howell (35)	48–23
72	March 5	@ New York	113–91	John Havlicek (29)	49–23
73	March 6	New York	91–103	John Havlicek (25)	50–23
74	March 7	@ Chicago	112–118	John Havlicek (32)	50–24
75	March 8	@ Philadelphia	96–101	John Havlicek (32)	50–25
76	March 10	Cincinnati	137–111	Larry Siegfried (23)	50–26
77	March 11	@ Seattle	119–112	John Havlicek (27)	51–26
78	March 12	@ San Francisco	124–121 (OT)	Bailey Howell (30)	52–26
79	March 13	@ San Diego	144–118	John Havlicek (34)	53–26
80	March 16	@ Baltimore	136–111	Bailey Howell (26)	54–26
81	March 17	Baltimore	147–139	John Havlicek (29)	54–27
82	March 20	Detroit	125–116	Embry, Siegfried (23)	54–28

Playoffs

1968 playoff game log
Division Semifinals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 24 Detroit W 123–116 John Havlicek (25) Bill Russell (34) Bill Russell (9) Boston Garden 7,591 1–0 2 March 25 @ Detroit L 116–126 Sam Jones (18) Bill Russell (14) Siegfried, Jones (3) Cobo Arena 10,109 1–1 3 March 27 Detroit L 98–109 John Havlicek (23) Bill Russell (23) Bill Russell (7) Boston Garden 8,429 1–2 4 March 28 @ Detroit W 135–110 John Havlicek (35) Bill Russell (21) John Havlicek (9) Cobo Arena 11,294 2–2 5 March 31 Detroit W 110–96 Bailey Howell (30) Bill Russell (21) John Havlicek (13) Boston Garden 8,093 3–2 6 April 1 @ Detroit W 111–103 John Havlicek (31) Bill Russell (23) John Havlicek (12) Cobo Arena 9,483 4–2
Division Finals: 4–3 (home: 1–2; road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 5 @ Philadelphia W 127–118 John Havlicek (35) Bill Russell (22) John Havlicek (11) Spectrum 14,412 1–0 2 April 10 Philadelphia L 106–115 John Havlicek (28) Bill Russell (20) John Havlicek (9) Boston Garden 14,780 1–1 3 April 11 @ Philadelphia L 114–122 John Havlicek (29) Bill Russell (20) John Havlicek (8) Spectrum 15,102 1–2 4 April 14 Philadelphia L 105–110 Sam Jones (25) Bill Russell (24) John Havlicek (8) Boston Garden 10,503 1–3 5 April 15 @ Philadelphia W 122–104 Sam Jones (37) Bill Russell (24) John Havlicek (10) Spectrum 15,202 2–3 6 April 17 Philadelphia W 114–106 John Havlicek (28) Bill Russell (31) Havlicek, Siegfried (6) Boston Garden 14,780 3–3 7 April 19 @ Philadelphia W 100–96 Sam Jones (22) Bill Russell (26) John Havlicek (8) Spectrum 15,202 4–3
NBA Finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 21 Los Angeles W 107–101 Bailey Howell (20) Bill Russell (25) John Havlicek (8) Boston Garden 9,546 1–0 2 April 24 Los Angeles L 113–123 John Havlicek (24) Bill Russell (24) Bill Russell (5) Boston Garden 14,780 1–1 3 April 26 @ Los Angeles W 127–119 John Havlicek (27) Bill Russell (16) Bill Russell (9) The Forum 17,011 2–1 4 April 28 @ Los Angeles L 105–118 Bailey Howell (24) Bill Russell (22) John Havlicek (8) The Forum 17,147 2–2 5 April 30 Los Angeles W 120–117 (OT) John Havlicek (31) Bill Russell (25) John Havlicek (8) Boston Garden 14,780 3–2 6 May 2 @ Los Angeles W 124–109 John Havlicek (40) Bill Russell (19) John Havlicek (7) The Forum 17,392 4–2
1968 schedule

Player statistics

Legend
GP  Games played	GS  Games started	MPG  Minutes per game
FG%  Field goal percentage	3FG%  3-point field goal percentage	FT%  Free throw percentage
RPG  Rebounds per game	APG  Assists per game	SPG  Steals per game
BPG  Blocks per game	PPG  Points per game

Awards, records and milestones

Awards

• Bill Russell, All-NBA Second Team
• John Havlicek, All-NBA Second Team

References

• Celtics on Database Basketball
• Celtics on Basketball Reference