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The1962–63 Boston Celtics season was the Celtics' 17th season in the NBA. The Celtics finished the season by winning their sixth NBA Championship. In 2024,HoopsHype would list this squad as the team with the 25th easiest route to anNBA Finals championship due primarily to their first round opponent they faced off against in theCincinnati Royals.^[1]

This would be the last NBA Title forBob Cousy, who retired after the season.

Offseason

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NBA draft

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The1962 NBA draft results were:

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club team
1	7	John Havlicek	Forward/Guard	United States	Ohio State
2	16	Jack Foley	Guard	United States	Holy Cross
3	25	Jim Hadnot		United States	Providence
4	34	Roger Strickland		United States	Jacksonville University
5	43	Gary Daniels		United States	The Citadel
6	52	Jim Hooley			Boston College
7	60	Clyde Arnold			Duquesne
8	69	Chuck Chevalier			Boston College
9	78	Mike Cingiser			Brown

Roster

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1962–63 Boston Celtics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Player	Height	Weight	From
G	14	Bob Cousy	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Holy Cross
F	20	Gene Guarilia	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	George Washington
G/F	17	John Havlicek	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	Ohio State
F	15	Tom Heinsohn	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	218 lb (99 kg)	Holy Cross
G	25	K. C. Jones	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	San Francisco
G/F	24	Sam Jones	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	North Carolina Central
SF	18	Jim Loscutoff	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Oregon
C	4	Clyde Lovellette	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	234 lb (106 kg)	Kansas
F	12	Willie Naulls	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	UCLA
C	6	Bill Russell	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	San Francisco
F	16	Satch Sanders	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	NYU
G/F	23	Frank Ramsey	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Kentucky

Head coach

Red Auerbach

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Regular season

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Season standings

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Eastern Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Boston Celtics	58	22	.725	–	25–5	21–16	12–1	25–11
x-Syracuse Nationals	48	32	.600	10	23–5	13–19	12–8	21–15
x-Cincinnati Royals	42	38	.525	16	23–10	15–19	4–9	20–16
New York Knicks	21	59	.263	37	12–22	5–28	4–9	6–30

Game log

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1962–63 game log
#	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	Record
1	October 20	New York	116–149	Sam Jones (25)	1–0
2	October 26	@ New York	133–108	Bill Russell (25)	2–0
3	October 27	Syracuse	98–118	Heinsohn, S. Jones,Sanders (17)	3–0
4	October 30	@St. Louis	97–98	Sam Jones (23)	3–1
5	October 31	@Detroit	115–100	Tom Heinsohn (24)	4–1
6	November 2	@Chicago	107–97	Bob Cousy (23)	5–1
7	November 3	Detroit	114–125	Tom Heinsohn (21)	6–1
8	November 7	@Cincinnati	106–105	Sam Jones (23)	7–1
9	November 9	Los Angeles	133–120	Sam Jones (23)	7–2
10	November 11	N New York	98–117	Tom Heinsohn (24)	8–2
11	November 12	Cincinnati	126–137	Tom Heinsohn (25)	9–2
12	November 13	@ New York	116–102	Tom Heinsohn (26)	10–2
13	November 16	@ Syracuse	105–113	Tom Heinsohn (27)	10–3
14	November 17	San Francisco	109–127	Tom Heinsohn (28)	11–3
15	November 20	N Chicago	106–113	Heinsohn, Russell (20)	12–3
16	November 21	St. Louis	106–115	Bill Russell (26)	13–3
17	November 22	N Syracuse	130–120	Frank Ramsey (23)	13–4
18	November 23	N Chicago	104–116	Satch Sanders (27)	14–4
19	November 24	@ St. Louis	95–97	Satch Sanders (21)	14–5
20	November 27	N Detroit	115–125	Tom Heinsohn (24)	15–5
21	December 1	Syracuse	110–129	Heinsohn, S. Jones, Russell (22)	16–5
22	December 2	@ Cincinnati	128–127 (OT)	Sam Jones (27)	17–5
23	December 5	@ Detroit	106–93	Sam Jones (20)	18–5
24	December 7	Los Angeles	112–126	Bill Russell (24)	19–5
25	December 8	@ Syracuse	97–102	Tom Heinsohn (20)	19–6
26	December 11	@ New York	87–95	Bill Russell (18)	19–7
27	December 12	St. Louis	98–111	Sam Jones (27)	20–7
28	December 13	N Detroit	93–103	Tom Heinsohn (26)	21–7
29	December 15	Cincinnati	124–120	Bill Russell (23)	21–8
30	December 22	New York	120–106	Sam Jones (24)	21–9
31	December 26	San Francisco	113–116	Sam Jones (20)	22–9
32	December 27	N San Francisco	102–108	Sam Jones (32)	23–9
33	December 28	@ Cincinnati	121–113	John Havlicek (31)	24–9
34	December 29	@ St. Louis	100–102	Tom Heinsohn (23)	24–10
35	January 2	@ San Francisco	135–120 (OT)	Tom Heinsohn (41)	25–10
36	January 4	@ Los Angeles	123–125	Tom Heinsohn (29)	25–11
37	January 5	@ Los Angeles	104–106	John Havlicek (24)	25–12
38	January 8	@ San Francisco	118–112	Bob Cousy (19)	26–12
39	January 9	@ Chicago	123–131	John Havlicek (20)	26–13
40	January 10	@ Cincinnati	121–130	Bill Russell (31)	26–14
41	January 11	Syracuse	117–134	John Havlicek (27)	27–14
42	January 13	Chicago	99–143	Clyde Lovellette (24)	28–14
43	January 17	N Chicago	93–110	Tom Heinsohn (18)	29–14
44	January 18	Cincinnati	114–122	Tom Heinsohn (25)	30–14
45	January 19	@ Syracuse	148–149 (OT)	Sam Jones (37)	30–15
46	January 20	Los Angeles	121–133	S. Jones, Russell (29)	31–15
47	January 22	@ New York	124–100	Bob Cousy (19)	32–15
48	January 23	@ Cincinnati	133–138	Tom Heinsohn (25)	32–16
49	January 24	N St. Louis	109–111	Sam Jones (27)	33–16
50	January 25	St. Louis	98–113	Sam Jones (21)	34–16
51	January 27	New York	110–123	John Havlicek (26)	35–16
52	January 29	N Chicago	99–100	Sam Jones (23)	36–16
53	January 30	San Francisco	111–125	Bill Russell (23)	37–16
54	January 31	N Cincinnati	125–128	Sam Jones (22)	38–16
55	February 1	Syracuse	125–111	Satch Sanders (22)	38–17
56	February 3	Detroit	128–137	Sam Jones (35)	39–17
57	February 5	@ Cincinnati	106–96	Sam Jones (27)	40–17
58	February 6	@ Syracuse	109–126	Sam Jones (22)	40–18
59	February 8	@ New York	129–97	John Havlicek (19)	41–18
60	February 9	San Francisco	112–118	Cousy, S. Jones (22)	42–18
61	February 10	New York	123–129	Sam Jones (21)	43–18
62	February 12	N Los Angeles	93–120	Sam Jones (25)	44–18
63	February 13	Los Angeles	134–128	Satch Sanders (25)	44–19
64	February 15	N Syracuse	114–123	Tom Heinsohn (33)	45–19
65	February 16	@ St. Louis	114–94	Sam Jones (34)	46–19
66	February 17	@ Chicago	110–107	Sam Jones (28)	47–19
67	February 19	Cincinnati	126–129	Heinsohn, S. Jones (25)	48–19
68	February 20	@ Detroit	117–113	John Havlicek (24)	49–19
69	February 21	@ San Francisco	135–118	Bill Russell (25)	50–19
70	February 22	@ Los Angeles	105–113	Sam Jones (24)	50–20
71	February 24	@ Los Angeles	119–109	Sam Jones (28)	51–20
72	February 26	@ San Francisco	112–128	Bill Russell (20)	51–21
73	March 2	New York	117–122	John Havlicek (32)	52–21
74	March 3	@ New York	102–95	Sam Jones (17)	53–21
75	March 7	@ Detroit	115–104	Sam Jones (31)	54–21
76	March 8	@ Chicago	109–110	Bill Russell (24)	54–22
77	March 10	Cincinnati	117–149	Tom Heinsohn (29)	55–22
78	March 13	Chicago	108–121	Tom Heinsohn (37)	56–22
79	March 16	@ Syracuse	125–121	Tom Heinsohn (21)	57–22
80	March 17	Syracuse	116–125	Tom Heinsohn (28)	58–22

Player stats

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Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player	GP	REB	AST	PTS	AVG
Sam Jones	76	396	241	1499	19.7
Tom Heinsohn	76	596	95	1440	18.9
Bill Russell	78	1843	348	1309	16.8
John Havlicek	80	534	179	1140	14.3
Bob Cousy	76	193	515	1003	13.2
Frank Ramsey	77	288	95	839	10.9
Thomas "Satch" Sanders	80	576	95	864	10.8
K.C. Jones	79	263	317	572	7.2
Clyde Lovellette	61	177	27	395	6.5
Dan Swartz	39	88	21	175	4.5
Jim Loscutoff	63	157	25	210	3.3
Gene Guarilia	11	14	2	26	2.4

^[2]

Playoffs

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1963 playoff game log

Division Finals: 4–3 (home: 2–2; road: 2–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	March 28	Cincinnati	L 132–135	Sam Jones (30)	Bill Russell (24)	Bob Cousy (9)	Boston Garden 13,798	1–0
2	March 29	@Cincinnati	W 125–102	Bill Russell (26)	Bill Russell (24)	—	Cincinnati Gardens 11,102	1–1
3	March 31	Cincinnati	L 116–121	Tom Heinsohn (28)	Bill Russell (28)	Bob Cousy (7)	Boston Garden 13,909	1–2
4	April 3	@Cincinnati	W 128–110	Bill Russell (26)	Bill Russell (21)	—	Cincinnati Gardens 3,498	2–2
5	April 6	Cincinnati	W 125–120	Tom Heinsohn (34)	Bill Russell (26)	Bob Cousy (8)	Boston Garden 13,909	3–2
6	April 7	@Cincinnati	L 99–109	Sam Jones (22)	Bill Russell (23)	—	Cincinnati Gardens 7,745	3–3
7	April 10	Cincinnati	W 142–131	Sam Jones (47)	Bill Russell (24)	Bob Cousy (16)	Boston Garden 13,909	4–3

NBA Finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 14	Los Angeles	W 117–114	Sam Jones (29)	Bill Russell (29)	Bob Cousy (11)	Boston Garden 13,909	1–0
2	April 16	Los Angeles	W 113–106	Sam Jones (27)	Bill Russell (38)	Bob Cousy (11)	Boston Garden 13,909	2–0
3	April 17	@Los Angeles	L 99–119	Sam Jones (30)	Bill Russell (19)	Bill Russell (5)	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 15,493	2–1
4	April 19	@Los Angeles	W 108–105	Tom Heinsohn (35)	Bill Russell (19)	three players tied (5)	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 16,382	3–1
5	April 21	Los Angeles	L 119–126	Sam Jones (36)	Bill Russell (27)	Bob Cousy (14)	Boston Garden 13,909	3–2
6	April 24	@Los Angeles	W 112–109	Tom Heinsohn (22)	Bill Russell (24)	Bill Russell (9)	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 15,652	4–2

1963 schedule

Awards and honors

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Bill Russell,NBA Most Valuable Player Award
Bill Russell,All-NBA First Team
Bob Cousy,All-NBA Second Team
Tom Heinsohn, All-NBA Second Team
John Havlicek,NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team
Nine players are enshrined in theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

References

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^Urbina, Frank (June 17, 2024)."Ranking the easiest paths to an NBA title ever".HoopsHype. RetrievedMarch 19, 2025.
^"1962 Boston Celtics".databasebasketball.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2010. RetrievedAugust 12, 2009.

v t e 1962–63 NBA season by team
1962 NBA draft All-Star Game Playoffs Finals Transactions
Eastern	Boston Cincinnati New York Syracuse
Western	Chicago Detroit Los Angeles San Francisco St. Louis

v t e Boston Celtics 1962–63 NBA champions
4Lovellette 6Russell 12Swartz 14Cousy 15Heinsohn 16Sanders 17Havlicek 18Loscutoff 20Guarilia 23Ramsey 24S. Jones 25K. Jones
Head coach:Auerbach
Regular season Playoffs

v t e NBA champions
1940s	1947:Philadelphia Warriors 1948:Baltimore Bullets 1949:Minneapolis Lakers
1950s	1950:Minneapolis Lakers 1951:Rochester Royals 1952:Minneapolis Lakers 1953:Minneapolis Lakers 1954:Minneapolis Lakers 1955:Syracuse Nationals 1956:Philadelphia Warriors 1957:Boston Celtics 1958:St. Louis Hawks 1959:Boston Celtics
1960s	1960:Boston Celtics 1961:Boston Celtics 1962:Boston Celtics 1963:Boston Celtics 1964:Boston Celtics 1965:Boston Celtics 1966:Boston Celtics 1967:Philadelphia 76ers 1968:Boston Celtics 1969:Boston Celtics
1970s	1970:New York Knicks 1971:Milwaukee Bucks 1972:Los Angeles Lakers 1973:New York Knicks 1974:Boston Celtics 1975:Golden State Warriors 1976:Boston Celtics 1977:Portland Trail Blazers 1978:Washington Bullets 1979:Seattle SuperSonics
1980s	1980:Los Angeles Lakers 1981:Boston Celtics 1982:Los Angeles Lakers 1983:Philadelphia 76ers 1984:Boston Celtics 1985:Los Angeles Lakers 1986:Boston Celtics 1987:Los Angeles Lakers 1988:Los Angeles Lakers 1989:Detroit Pistons
1990s	1990:Detroit Pistons 1991:Chicago Bulls 1992:Chicago Bulls 1993:Chicago Bulls 1994:Houston Rockets 1995:Houston Rockets 1996:Chicago Bulls 1997:Chicago Bulls 1998:Chicago Bulls 1999:San Antonio Spurs
2000s	2000:Los Angeles Lakers 2001:Los Angeles Lakers 2002:Los Angeles Lakers 2003:San Antonio Spurs 2004:Detroit Pistons 2005:San Antonio Spurs 2006:Miami Heat 2007:San Antonio Spurs 2008:Boston Celtics 2009:Los Angeles Lakers
2010s	2010:Los Angeles Lakers 2011:Dallas Mavericks 2012:Miami Heat 2013:Miami Heat 2014:San Antonio Spurs 2015:Golden State Warriors 2016:Cleveland Cavaliers 2017:Golden State Warriors 2018:Golden State Warriors 2019:Toronto Raptors
2020s	2020:Los Angeles Lakers 2021:Milwaukee Bucks 2022:Golden State Warriors 2023:Denver Nuggets 2024:Boston Celtics 2025:Oklahoma City Thunder