CelticsTitle Town

Celtics Championships: All 18 Banners

From Bill Russell's first ring in 1957 to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in 2024, every title Boston has hung in the rafters.

18NBA championships, a league record
8straight titles, 1959 to 1966
9Finals won against the Lakers franchise
23retired numbers, the most in North American sports

The Boston Celtics have won 18 NBA championships, more than any other franchise. Eleven of them came in the thirteen seasons between 1957 and 1969. The rest arrived in waves: two in the mid-1970s, three in the Larry Bird era, one in 2008 and the record-breaking 18th in 2024.

Seven of the 18 title-clinching series went the full seven games. Below is every banner with its Finals opponent, the series score, the regular-season record, the head coach and, from 1969 on, the Finals MVP.

The Banners

The Russell dynasty, 1957-1969

Titles: 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969

Eleven titles in thirteen seasons, including eight in a row from 1959 to 1966. No NBA team has strung together a run like it before or since. Bill Russell anchored every one of them, and Red Auerbach coached the first nine before handing the job to Russell, who won the last two as a player-coach.

Seven of those Finals went through the Lakers franchise, first in Minneapolis and then in Los Angeles. The 1969 series went seven games, and Jerry West was named Finals MVP in a losing effort, still the only time the award has gone to a player on the beaten team.

Cowens, Havlicek and Heinsohn, 1974-1976

Titles: 1974, 1976

Tom Heinsohn, a forward on the dynasty teams, coached Boston back to the top. The 1974 Finals against Milwaukee went the full seven games, and John Havlicek took Finals MVP. Two years later Jo Jo White earned the award as the Celtics beat Phoenix in six.

The Bird years, 1981-1986

Titles: 1981, 1984, 1986

Larry Bird arrived in 1979 and Boston won three titles in six seasons. Cedric Maxwell was Finals MVP in 1981 against Houston. Bird won it in 1984, a seven-game series with the Lakers, and again in 1986.

That 1985-86 team went 67-15, the best regular-season record of any of the 18 championship teams.

Banner 17, 2008

Title: 2008

After a 22-year gap, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen beat the Lakers in six games under Doc Rivers. Pierce was named Finals MVP. Garnett's No. 5 and Pierce's No. 34 now hang in the rafters.

Banner 18, 2024

Title: 2024

The 2023-24 Celtics went 64-18 under Joe Mazzulla and beat Dallas 4-1 in the Finals. Jaylen Brown was Finals MVP. The title broke a tie with the Lakers at 17 and gave Boston sole possession of the league record.

Retired Numbers

The Celtics have retired 23 numbers, more than any other franchise in North American professional sports. They hang on banners above the TD Garden floor beside the championships.

LOSCY. Jim Loscutoff (1955-1964) wore No. 18 and asked that other Celtics be allowed to keep wearing it. His banner reads "LOSCY" instead; No. 18 was later retired for Dave Cowens.

The microphone. Broadcaster Johnny Most, the voice of the Celtics from 1953 to 1990, is honored with a microphone in the rafters.

Celtics championship questions

How many championships have the Celtics won?

18, the most in NBA history. The Lakers are second with 17.

When did the Celtics last win the title?

In 2024, beating the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the Finals. Jaylen Brown was Finals MVP.

How many titles in a row did the Celtics win?

Eight, from 1959 through 1966. It is the longest championship streak in NBA history.

How many numbers have the Celtics retired?

23, more than any other franchise in North American professional sports. The rafters also honor Jim Loscutoff with "LOSCY" and broadcaster Johnny Most with a microphone.

Sources: Basketball Reference (Finals results, records, coaches, Finals MVPs); the Celtics' retired-number banners as listed on Wikipedia. Checked 2026-10-25.