Top 5 NBA Draft moments in Boston Celtics history, from Auerbach to Ainge

With the draft now upon us, it is time to look back at some of the top moments from the Boston Celtics draft history dating all the way back to the 1950s.

From Auerbach to Ainge…

The Top 5 draft moments in Boston Celtics history

No. 5: Danny Ainge’s draft night heist with the Nets turns into the Jays

Two months. That is how long into the 2013/2014 campaign it took for Brooklyn Nets fans to realize the Celtics had put their franchise in a deep hole.

By 2013 it was clear that the Boston Celtics’ core of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were well out of their prime. Danny Ainge, using that wisdom pulled the trigger on one of the most shocking trades in the franchise’s history. Boston said farewell to both Garnett and Pierce, two other players including Jason Terry for four Brooklyn Nets, three first-round picks, and a 2017 pick swap. People trashed the deal on draft night, but Wyc Grousbeck and Ainge’s persistence to earn that pick swap in 2017 would turn into the C’s future franchise cornerstone.

Grousbeck recalled the draft night when the trade went down many years later:

"“Go get a fourth pick. I think these guys have deal fever — we’re going to keep going until they say no.”"

Brooklyn’s swiftness in providing Boston with an answer that night proved to be its downfall.

With the Boston Celtics sitting atop the draft board in 2017, Ainge punished another Eastern Conference foe, trading the No. 1 overall pick for No. 3 and a future first-rounder. Markelle Fultz may be reviving his career in Orlando, but the former Washington guard failed in the City of Brotherly Love. Boston, on the other hand, took the eventual two-time All-NBA First-Team player two selections lower than the 76ers who secured a player who has a career 3-point shooting average in the NBA lower than 28%. That deal Ainge made with Brooklyn created the core of the team that we see today.

Jaylen Brown is in Boston via the No. 3 pick in 2016 while that pick swap gave way for Ainge to lock up Jayson Tatum. When you think of recent draft moments, the former President of Basketball Operations’ guts to get this deal done is second to none.

No. 4: Sam Jones goes No. 8 to Boston Celtics after Auerbach receives a recommendation

It is a story that many Celtics fans may not even know. After piecing together one of the greatest draft classes in the history of the league, Red Auerbach went back to work the following season looking for another difference-maker. Who knows how true it is or not, but ahead of the 1957 draft, there were no players that stood out in the opinion of Auerbach. The Celtics had the No. 8 selection, so he needed some idea of who he could add to Boston’s already solid core.

Sam Jones, who went to North Carolina Central University, a then Division II school in Durham was an unknown to many. In the previous draft, Jones was in fact picked by the Lakers but opted to return to college after serving in the United States Army for two years. Minneapolis’ rights were thankfully voided, denying Boston’s most hated rival an eventual Hall of Famer.

Former Celtic, and then Wake Forest men’s basketball coach Bones McKinney told Auerbach that the best player in the state of North Carolina was just a few miles away from Chapel Hill. When Boston made the decision on Jones at No. 8 after UNC forward Lennie Rosenbluth sent No. 6, the NC Central product was surprisingly disappointed. According to Jones himself, he did not even think he had a shot at making the Celtics roster. The Florida native thought about declining his second invitation to play professional basketball in order to teach.

In fact, Jones asked the high school if he was thinking about taking a job with a pay increase, and due to the fact that he did not receive it, the No. 8 overall pick found his way to New England. According to Auerbach, he knew Jones was going to be a special talent within the first few weeks since coming to Boston. It took some time, but as his career went on, Jones continued to take steps. Without the wisdom of McKinney and Auerbach’s guts to take the NC Central product on the night of the 1957 draft, there is no telling how many titles the franchise would have without a player that is now arguably considered Boston’s greatest two-guard.

No. 3: Red Auerbach secures Robert Parish and drafts Kevin McHale at No. 3 with a deal with the Warriors

The incredible basketball mind of Auerbach struck again. This deal was a process over a year in the making. With Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo’s lack of excitement to be in a Boston Celtics uniform, Auerbach sent him to Detroit in exchange for two first-round picks which later became the No. 1 selection in the 1980 NBA Draft. The deal was merely put together as compensation for Boston signing M.L. Carr, a former Piston off waivers to rebuild the ball club’s defense.

With Larry Bird now in the driver’s seat of this franchise, and Bill Fitch leading the team on the sideline, Auerbach was well on his way to bringing the Cs back to the NBA Finals. What he did with that No. 1 overall pick would kickstart Boston’s Eastern Conference dominance in the 1980s. The Celtics sent that pick to Golden State, and another first-round selection in exchange for Robert Parish, and the No. 3 selection in the draft. Without Dave Cowens in the middle of the paint anymore, Boston needed a punisher inside.

Parish became that man. The center completely turned his career around on the east coast, moving from a disinterested big man out west to a vital piece of the C’s championship puzzle. Boston played the mind games, and the Warriors fell right into their trap.

The story goes that the Cs actually liked University of Minnesota forward Kevin McHale more than the consensus No. 1 pick Joe Barry Carroll. Golden State took the Purdue big man and ignited the fire of another Boston dynasty. McHale and Parish would combine for 16 All-Star Game appearances with Carroll only getting the nod once.

Carroll’s career often gets slandered due to his obvious disinterest in playing for the California side, but he ended up piecing together a solid 11-year professional career. The only problem was he will consistently be compared to two guys that are in the Hall of Fame.

No. 2: Boston Celtics select Larry Bird in 1978, elevating team into different stratosphere

There could be an argument that Auerbach’s deal for McHale and Parish should be No. 2, but Larry Bird’s career accolades do not lie. Boston’s No. 33 was drafted No. 6 overall by the Cs in 1978, one of only two Hall of Famers from that class including former Philadelphia 76er Maurice Cheeks. It took a year for him to join the northeast side as he was causally busy leading his college ball club to the NCAA national title game. Paul Pierce was a revolutionary Celtic, but once Bird signed the biggest contract for a rookie sports history, the Cs became instant contenders.

The five players taken in front of the Indiana State University product combined for just four All-Star appearances. Each of those belongs to Micheal Ray Richardson. Auerbach’s team went from 29 wins to 61 in one season. Bird led his side along with Cedric Maxwell to the Conference Finals in his first campaign as the league’s top rookie. In eight out of the next nine seasons, Bird was the catalyst to Boston’s finishing as the East’s No. 1 overall seed. His three MVPs speak for themselves, but what made No. 33 so special with his distribution and unselfishness.

June 9, 1978 in New York City was a special day in one of the most storied franchises in all of sports. Bird was an icon who brought the NBA into relevance. He did it all in Boston, and that day was the beginning of it all.

No. 1: 1956 Draft, Red Auerbach selects Bill Russell, Tommy Heinsohn, and KC Jones

There is no hesitation about what No. 1 is. There is no dynasty in the history of American sports that matches the success of these Celtics teams. April 30, 1956, in a draft that featured 14 rounds and 92 selections by eight teams, Auerbach took the entire league to school. Only five players from that draft class appeared in at least one All-Star Game, Boston took three of them. Before the draft even started, Tommy Heinsohn, the eventual Rookie of the Year was grabbed by the Boston Celtics through their “territorial pick” (the NBA’s way between 1950-1966 of trying to gain the support of fans who lived near the teams’ market).

After that, Auerbach had a lot of hoops to jump through in order to lock up the player he knew would define the identity of this franchise, especially defensively. The head coach made two deals, one with the Rochester Royals who had the No. 1 pick, and one with the St. Louis Hawks, the holders of the next selection. It is rumored that the Royals, today’s Sacramento Kings, even rated Russell highly. Duquesne guard Si Green was at the top of their list, but that was not good enough for Auerbach. According to Boston lore, Red sent the Ice Capades to Rochester for the Royals word that they would not take Russell No. 1. The Boston Celtics had solved the next problem by dealing away St. Louis native Ed Macauley to his hometown team along with Cliff Hagan for the selection that turned to the 11-time champion.

Boston was not even done there. With the 13th overall pick, the Cs added Russell’s teammate, K.C. Jones. All three played in Boston for their entire careers and would go on to coach the club at some point down the line. 11 out of the next 13 campaigns after that 1956 draft ended up with the Cs as world champions. On and off the floor, these three legends defined what it meant to be a Celtic. The fact that they were all in the same draft is remarkable.