The 1978–79 Boston Celtics season was the 33rd season of the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). It was the worst record of any Celtics team that played between 1950 and 1996. Prior to the season, owner

Irv Levin Irving H. Levin (September 8, 1921 – March 20, 1996) was an American film producer and business executive with the National General Corporation. He was also the owner of the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics and San Diego Clippe ...

swapped franchises with the

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference ...

ownership group led by John Y. Brown, Jr. Levin had wanted to have a team in his native California, but knew the other league owners would not consider a move of the Celtics. He therefore brokered a deal with Brown to swap franchises, and then moved the Braves to San Diego to become the

Clippers A clipper is a type of fast sailing vessel, generally from the 19th century. Clipper or clippers may also refer to: Business * Clipper Logistics, a British logistics company * Clipper Teas, branded as "Clipper", a British fairtrade tea compa ...

. In the meantime, a deal was brokered, without consulting team president

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. As a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented champio ...

, to trade three players (

Freeman Williams Freeman Williams Jr. (May 15, 1956 – April 19, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Portland State Vikings, where he was a two-time All-Americ ...

Kevin Kunnert Kevin Robert Kunnert (born November 11, 1951) is an American former basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 7'0" and 230 lb center–power forward, was drafted out of the University of Iowa by the Chicago Bulls in ...

and

Kermit Washington Kermit Alan Washington (born September 17, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player. Washington is best remembered for punching opposing player Rudy Tomjanovich during an on-court fight in 1977. Washington was not a highly cov ...

) to the Braves for Tiny Archibald,

Billy Knight William R. Knight (born June 9, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player and executive. Playing with the Indiana Pacers in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and later the National Basketball Association (NBA), he ...

and

Marvin Barnes Marvin Jerome "Bad News" Barnes (July 27, 1952 – September 8, 2014) was an American professional basketball player. A forward (basketball), forward, he was an NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, All-American at Providence College, and played p ...

. The move created a media firestorm for the team, as Kunnert and Washington were viewed as keys to future improvement, and Auerbach publicly stated that he was not consulted about the move. Brown would then trade three first-round draft picks for former Brave

Bob McAdoo Robert Allen McAdoo Jr. ( ; born September 25, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a five-time NBA All-Star and named the NBA Mos ...

. Auerbach again was not consulted, and he almost took a job with the rival

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

because of it. By the start of the season, between trades and the retirement of team captain

John Havlicek John Joseph Havlicek (often nicknamed Hondo) ( ; April 8, 1940 – April 25, 2019) was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A swingman, Hav ...

, only six players remained from the 1977–78 team, including the starting front three of

Dave Cowens David William Cowens ( ; born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At , he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the B ...

, Cedric Maxwell and Curtis Rowe, shooting guard

Jo Jo White Joseph Henry White (November 16, 1946 – January 16, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. As an amateur, he played at the University of Kansas, where he was named a second-team All-American twice. White was part of the U.S. m ...

and backup point guards

Don Chaney Donald Ray Chaney (born March 22, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, most notable for winning two championships as a player on the Boston Celtics, and winning NBA Coach of the Year while leading the Houston Ro ...

and Kevin Stacom. Team depth issues were worsened when first round draft pick

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend" Bird is widely regarded a ...

decided to remain in college for the season. Following the season, Brown would sell his portion of the team to partner Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. Brown would subsequently be elected

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of his native

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

later that year. This was the last time the Celtics would miss the playoffs until the 1993-94 season.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

References