The1989–90 Boston Celtics season was the 44th season for theBoston Celtics in theNational Basketball Association.^[1] The Celtics had the 13th overall pick in the1989 NBA draft, and selected power forwardMichael Smith out ofBrigham Young University,^[2][3][4] and acquiredJohn Bagley from theNew Jersey Nets during the off-season.^[5][6]

WithLarry Bird returning after only playing just six games in the1988–89 season due to heel injuries,^[7][8][9] and with last year's first-round draft pickBrian Shaw leaving the team to play overseas inItaly,^[10][11][12] the Celtics struggled around .500 inwinning percentage during the first month of the regular season, but would win 11 of their next 15 games, holding a 28–18 record at the All-Star break,^[13] finishing in second place in theAtlantic Division with a solid 52–30 record, and earning the fourth seed in theEastern Conference;^[14] the Celtics also qualified for theNBA playoffs for the eleventh consecutive year.^[15]

Bird averaged 24.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and was named to theAll-NBA Second Team, while sixth manKevin McHale averaged 20.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, and was named to theNBA All-Defensive Second Team, andReggie Lewis contributed 17.0 points per game. In addition,Robert Parish provided the team with 15.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, whileDennis Johnson provided with 7.1 points and 6.5 assists per game. Off the bench,Jim Paxson contributed 6.4 points per game, whileJoe Kleine averaged 5.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game,Kevin Gamble contributed 5.1 points per game, Bagley provided with 4.3 points and 5.5 assists per game, and starting power forwardEd Pinckney averaged 4.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.^[16]

During theNBA All-Star weekend at theMiami Arena inMiami, Florida, Bird, McHale and Parish were all selected for the1990 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; this would be the final All-Star Game Bird would participate in.^[17][18][19] In addition, Bird also participated in theNBA Three-Point Shootout,^[20][21] and finished tied in tenth place inMost Valuable Player voting.^[22]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the1990 NBA playoffs, the Celtics faced off against the 5th–seededNew York Knicks, a team that featured All-Star centerPatrick Ewing,Charles Oakley andMaurice Cheeks. The Celtics looked ready to make a serious run, as the team took a 2–0 series lead over the Knicks. In Game 2, the Celtics defeated the Knicks at home, 157–128 at theBoston Garden; the team's 157 points were an NBA playoff record for the most points scored in a game.^[23][24][25] However, the Celtics lost the next two games to the Knicks on the road, which included a Game 4 loss atMadison Square Garden, 135–108 as the Knicks evened the series. The Celtics lost Game 5 to the Knicks at the Boston Garden, 121–114, thus losing in a hard-fought five-game series.^[26][27][28]

Following the season, Johnson and Paxson both retired,^[29][30][31] and head coachJimmy Rodgers was fired after coaching the Celtics for two seasons.^[32][33][34]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	13	Michael Smith	SF/PF	United States	Brigham Young
2	40	Dino Rađa	PF	Yugoslavia	KK Jugoplastika

Larry Bird, the Celtics star player, was coming back after surgery to both heels the previous season and later said he never felt the same. Despite the injury, the Celtics were able to rise to 2nd place in the Atlantic Division.^[35] By the end of the regular season, the Celtics had scored an average of 110 points per a game, and allowed an average of 106 points per game. During the playoffs against the Knicks that year, the Celtics quickly took the first 2 games of the series, but the New York Knicks would come back and rally to win 3 games in a row, sending the Celtics home.^[36]

Player statistics citation:^[16]

• Larry Bird,All-NBA Second Team
• Kevin McHale,NBA All-Defensive Second Team

• 1989–90 NBA season

• Boston Celtics seasons
• 1989–90 NBA season by team
• 1989 in sports in Massachusetts
• 1990 in sports in Massachusetts
• 1989 in Boston
• 1990 in Boston

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2023
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards