The

1997–98 NBA season The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their third straight championship and sixth in the last eight years, beating the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in ...

was the 52nd season for 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 ...

. The Celtics received the third overall pick in the

1997 NBA draft The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto R ...

, and selected point guard

Chauncey Billups Chauncey Ray Billups (born September 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing college basketball with ...

from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

, and also selected shooting guard

Ron Mercer Ronald Eugene Mercer (born May 18, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. After his career at the University of Kentucky, Mercer played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA); he ended his career with ...

from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

with the sixth overall pick. Despite finishing with the league's second worst record the previous season, the Celtics were back in the headlines after hiring University of Kentucky head coach

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

as their new coach. During the off-season, the team signed free agent Chris Mills, but then traded him to the

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 ...

in exchange for second-year forward

Walter McCarty Walter Lee McCarty (born February 1, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who serves as the head coach of the Freseros de Irapuato in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). McCarty played for the NBA ...

in October, and also signed second-year center Travis Knight,

Andrew DeClercq Andrew Donald DeClercq (born February 1, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player and current coach. He was a center and power forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for ten seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. D ...

, Bruce Bowen and

Tyus Edney Tyus Dwayne Edney Sr. (born February 14, 1973) is an American basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Pepperdine Waves men's team of the West Coast Conference (WCC). Listed at , he played point guard. He played coll ...

. Pitino's Celtics career had an auspicious beginning on opening night when the Celtics defeated

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

, and the 5-time defending NBA champion

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

, 92–85 at the FleetCenter on October 31, 1997. After a slow 1–5 start to the regular season, the Celtics held a 16–14 record as of January 3, 1998, but then lost eight of their next nine games, and held a 22–25 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Billups along with Dee Brown to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

in exchange for Kenny Anderson,

Popeye Jones Ronald Jerome "Popeye" Jones (born June 17, 1970) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). College career B ...

and

Žan Tabak Žan Tabak (born 15 June 1970) is a Croatian professional basketball coach and former player who is now serving as the head coach for Trefl Sopot of the PLK. His basketball career, spanning twenty years, was marked by several notable achievemen ...

; the Raptors had acquired Anderson from the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

. The Celtics continued to struggle as they later on posted a six-game losing streak in March; although the team did not qualify for the

NBA playoffs The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...

, they improved their win total by 21 games from the previous season, finishing in sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a 36–46 record. Second-year star

Antoine Walker Antoine Devon Walker (born August 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008. Walker ...

averaged 22.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, and was selected for the

1998 NBA All-Star Game The 1998 NBA All-Star Game was the 48th edition of the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game. The event was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The East won the game 135–114. Besides the NBA All-Star game, there were t ...

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, while Mercer averaged 15.3 points and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the

NBA All-Rookie First Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

. In addition, McCarty provided the team with 9.6 points and 1.3 steals per game, and

Dana Barros Dana Bruce Barros (born April 13, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player from the National Basketball Association (NBA). In college, he played at Boston College, finishing as one of the school's all-time leading scorers. He w ...

contributed 9.8 points and 3.6 assists per game off the bench, plus leading the Celtics with 100 three-point field goals. On the defensive side, Knight averaged 6.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, and DeClercq provided with 5.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Walker finished in twelfth place in

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

voting, and also finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting, while Pitino finished tied in seventh place in

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

voting. Following the season, Knight was traded back to his former team, the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, after only one season with the Celtics, and Edney and Tabak were both released to free agency.

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

* Power forward

was acquired by the Celtics from the

in a mid-season trade, but was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

due to a knee injury he sustained with the Raptors, and did not play for the Celtics this season.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 16 , , 16 , , 24.1 , , .435 , , .370 , , .837 , , 2.4 , , 6.3 , , 1.6 , , .0 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 80 , , 15 , , 21.1 , , .461 , , .407 , , .847 , , 1.9 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 51 , , 44 , , 25.4 , , .390 , , .339 , , .817 , , 2.2 , , 4.3 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 61 , , 9 , , 21.4 , , .409 , , .339 , , .623 , , 2.9 , , 1.3 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 41 , , 10 , , 19.8 , , .427 , , .381 , , .679 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 81 , , 49 , , 18.8 , , .497 , , .000 , , .601 , , 4.8 , , .7 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 52 , , 7 , , 12.0 , , .431 , , .300 , , .793 , , 1.1 , , 2.7 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 33 , , 8 , , 13.5 , , .571 , , , , .588 , , 3.3 , , .9 , , .6 , , .9 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 8 , , 0 , , 3.3 , , .500 , , , , , , .8 , , .1 , , .3 , , .1 , , .8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 15 , , 0 , , 6.1 , , .333 , , .261 , , , , .6 , , .3 , , .1 , , .2 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 74 , , 21 , , 20.3 , , .441 , , .273 , , .786 , , 4.9 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , 1.1 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 82 , , 64 , , 28.5 , , .404 , , .309 , , .742 , , 4.4 , , 2.2 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 80 , , 62 , , 33.3 , , .450 , , .107 , , .839 , , 3.5 , , 2.2 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 69 , , 16 , , 16.3 , , .436 , , .194 , , .686 , , 2.2 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .2 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 9 , , 0 , , 4.1 , , .375 , , , , .500 , , .6 , , .1 , , .2 , , .4 , , .8 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 18 , , 5 , , 12.9 , , .473 , , , , .538 , , 3.2 , , .7 , , .3 , , .6 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 33 , , 2 , , 11.2 , , .513 , , , , .788 , , 2.1 , , .4 , , .6 , , .3 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 82 , , 82 , , 39.9 , , .423 , , .312 , , .645 , , 10.2 , , 3.3 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , 22.4 Player Statistics Citation:

Awards and records

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

1st Team

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also