The

1999–2000 NBA season The 1999–2000 NBA season was the 54th season of the National Basketball Association. The season began on November 2, 1999, and ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA championship, beating the Indiana Pacers 4 games to 2 in the 2000 ...

was the 54th 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 ...

. During the off-season, the team acquired

Danny Fortson Daniel Anthony Fortson (born March 27, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1997 to 2007. Early life Although born in Phi ...

, and former Celtics forward

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician. He has been dubbed as the " Father of the Nation", having led the then-British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956, ...

from the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, and signed free agents

Calbert Cheaney Calbert Nathaniel Cheaney (born July 17, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as Director of player development for the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball of the Big Ten. He starred as a player for the Indiana Hoosie ...

, and undrafted rookie shooting guard

Adrian Griffin Adrian Darnell Griffin Sr. (born July 4, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as the head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA a ...

. In their third season under 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 ...

, the Celtics won their first three games of the regular season, but played below .500 basketball for the first few months, holding a 21–28 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Fortson 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

Alvin Williams Alvin Leon Williams Jr. (born August 6, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player who played for Villanova University and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1997 to 2007. College career Williams graduated from G ...

, but the trade was voided due to Williams failing his physical exam; Fortson only played 55 games this season due to a stress fracture in his right foot. The Celtics struggled and suffered a ten-game losing streak between March and April, but managed to win five of their final six games of the season, finishing in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a 35–47 record, and missing 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 ...

again for the fifth consecutive year. Second-year star

Paul Pierce Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. As of September 2024, he is a contributo ...

had a stellar season, averaging 19.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game, while

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 20.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, and Kenny Anderson contributed 14.0 points, 5.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game. In addition,

Vitaly Potapenko Vitalii Mykolayovych Potapenko ( , ; born March 21, 1975) is a Ukrainian professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketbal ...

provided the team with 9.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and Griffin provided with 6.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. Off the bench, Fortson averaged 7.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, while Williams 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 ...

both contributed 7.2 points per game each, and

Tony Battie Demetrius Antonio Battie (born February 11, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He works as an analyst for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). High school and college career Battie attended ...

provided with 6.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. This season also reached a breaking point for the Celtics, after a 96–94 home loss to the Raptors on March 1, 2000, where All-Star guard

Vince Carter Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. (born January 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 22 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, b ...

hit a three-pointer at the buzzer, which even drew cheers from the Celtics fans at the Fleet Center; Pitino went on a legendary rant in his post-game interview, wherein he blamed fans and the media for being negative towards the Celtics, and demanded them to stop reliving past glories; best remembered by the phrase "walking through that door", as he referred to retired Celtics legends

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 ...

, Kevin McHale and

Robert Parish Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player. A 7'1" Center (basketball), center, nicknamed "the Chief", Parish played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1976 to 199 ...

, who all won three championships with the team in the 1980s. This would not leave Celtics fans nor the Boston media any more satiated, and contributed to his eventual downfall. Following the season, the Celtics were involved in a four-team trade, as Barros was traded to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

, while Fortson was dealt to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

; however, Barros never played for the Mavericks, as he was traded to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

two months later. Meanwhile, Cheaney was traded to the

, and

Pervis Ellison Pervis Ellison (born April 3, 1967) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Nicknamed "Never Nervous Pervis" for his clutch play with the University of Louisville, after leading Louisville to a national championship, E ...

signed as a free agent with the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

. For the season, the team added their alternate logo of a cloverleaf above the shorts of their uniforms.

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

* Guard/forward Greg Minor was 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 hip injury, and missed the entire regular season.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , 82 , , 82 , , 31.6 , , .440 , , .386 , , .775 , , 2.7 , , 5.1 , , 1.7 , , .1 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 72 , , 0 , , 15.8 , , .451 , , .410 , , .868 , , 1.4 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 82 , , 4 , , 18.4 , , .477 , , .125 , , .675 , , 5.0 , , .8 , , .6 , , .9 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 67 , , 19 , , 19.5 , , .440 , , .333 , , .429 , , 2.1 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , .2 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 30 , , 5 , , 9.0 , , .442 , , , , .714 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 55 , , 5 , , 15.6 , , .528 , , , , .735 , , 6.7 , , .5 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 72 , , 47 , , 26.8 , , .424 , , .281 , , .753 , , 5.2 , , 2.5 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 61 , , 5 , , 14.4 , , .339 , , .309 , , .722 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .4 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 48 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .396 , , .357 , , .952 , , .7 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , .0 , , 3.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 73 , , 72 , , 35.4 , , .442 , , .343 , , .798 , , 5.4 , , 3.0 , , 2.1 , , .8 , , 19.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 79 , , 72 , , 22.7 , , .499 , , .000 , , .681 , , 6.3 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .4 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 3 , , 0 , , 6.3 , , .500 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .7 , , .7 , , .0 , , .0 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 3 , , 0 , , 13.7 , , .167 , , , , .333 , , 1.0 , , 1.7 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 82 , , 82 , , 36.6 , , .430 , , .256 , , .699 , , 8.0 , , 3.7 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , 20.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 68 , , 17 , , 20.3 , , .427 , , .347 , , .793 , , 2.3 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , 7.2 Player Statistics Citation:

Awards and records

Transactions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1999-2000 Boston Celtics Season Boston Celtics seasons

Celtics Celtics

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

Awards and records

Transactions

See also

References