The Boston Celtics are one of the oldest and most legendary teams in the National Basketball Association. They are tied for the franchise with the most championships with 17. This obviously comes with great players, but who are the top five best Celtics players?
Five: Paul Peirce
Paul Peirce is the only player on this list that did not spend his entire career on the Celtics, but he spent his first 15 years with the club which contained his prime years. He did however get a contract at the very end of his career so that he can retire a Celtic. While he was on the Celtics, he was a 10-time all-star, one-time champion, and four-time All-NBA team member. He was a part of the 2008 super team with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo, but Pierce was the leader, and out of the four stars, he won the Finals MVP.
Four: John Havlicek
Havlicek played back in the ’60s with Bill Russell so you might not be familiar with him. Obviously playing with Russell guarantees that you have at least a couple of championships, in which Havlicek has eight. The NBA recently put out a list of the top 75 players of all time and Havlicek was on this list. Not only did he make the NBA’s top 75, but he also made the top 50 list that was released during the 1996 season.
Three: Bob Cousy
You might not be familiar with the name Bob Cousy because of how long ago he played, but anyone old enough to remember him play would agree that he was one of the best Celtics to ever play. If you weren’t born in the ‘50s and don’t remember him, don’t worry. Like Havlicek, he was also named a top 50 player in the NBA. He was considered one of the best point guards of his time and was a six-time NBA champion, a one-time MVP, and an eight-time assists leader. 
 Two: Larry Bird
Larry “Legend” Bird is one of the players that I wish I had the chance to watch live. If you have never seen footage of Bird, I suggest you go onto YouTube right now and watch some of his highlights. He was so good that he would humiliate his opponents. There are so many stories of all the trash talk and legendary moments he had. One time he played an entire game with his left hand—despite being a righty—because he was bored; he still scored 30. This is just one example but there are tons more. Of course, he had to back up all of his trash talks though. The Bird was one of the best shooters at the time winning the three-point contest three times. He was also a three-time MVP, a three-time champion and a 12-time All-Star. Larry Birds’ rival throughout his career was arguably the greatest point guard of all time, Magic Johnson. 
One: Bill Russell
You can’t have a list of the greatest Celtics without having Bill Russell at one. We have all seen the picture of Bill Russell flexing his legendary 11 NBA championship rings. Like most of the players on this list, he spent his entire career for the Celtics. Unlike most of the players on this list, however, he returned to coach the Celtics as a coach to win two more championships. In fact, for a couple of years Bill Russell was the player-coach, which is unheard of nowadays. In his prime, he was a defensive monster at only 6 feet 9 inches tall. His accolades include five MVPs, 11 All-NBA appearances, and 12 All-Star games. He and Wilt Chamberlain used to go head-to-head back in the day, which is saying something when you remember Chamberlain had scored 100 points in a single game, averaged 50 points in a season, and is a four-time MVP.