1991–92 Boston Celtics season

The 1991–92 NBA season was the 46th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] The Celtics had the 24th overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft, and selected small forward Rick Fox from the University of North Carolina.^[2][3][4][5] This marked the thirteenth and final NBA season for All-Star forward, and Celtics legend Larry Bird, who would retire after the season.^[6][7][8][9] Bird missed nearly half of the season due to a nagging back injury, only playing just 45 games.^[10][11][12]

1991–92 Boston Celtics season
Division champions
Head coach	Chris Ford
General manager	Dave Gavitt
Owners	Don Gaston Alan N. Cohen Paul Dupee
Arena	Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record	51–31 (.622)
Place	Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to Cavaliers 3–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WFXT (Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy) SportsChannel New England (Mike Gorman, Tom Heinsohn)
Radio	WEEI (Glenn Ordway, Doug Brown)
< 1990–91 1992–93 >

In January, the Celtics traded Brian Shaw to the Miami Heat in exchange for Sherman Douglas.^[13][14][15] The Celtics trailed the New York Knicks in the Atlantic Division for the first half of the regular season, holding a 28–18 record at the All-Star break.^[16] The Celtics won the Atlantic Division title with a 51–31 record, and earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference, although they finished six games behind the #3 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, who would have home-court advantage in a head-to-head playoff series.^[17] The Celtics also qualified for the NBA playoffs for the thirteenth consecutive season.^[18]

Bird averaged 20.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game, while Reggie Lewis averaged 20.8 points and 1.5 steals per game. In addition, Robert Parish averaged 14.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, and surpassed the 20,000 point mark during the regular season,^[19][20] while sixth man Kevin McHale provided the team with 13.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game off the bench, but only played 56 games due to a leg injury,^[10][11] Kevin Gamble provided with 13.5 points per game, and second-year guard Dee Brown contributed 11.7 points and 5.3 assists per game, but only played just 31 games due to a knee injury.^[21][22] Meanwhile, Fox contributed 8.0 points per game off the bench, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, Ed Pinckney averaged 7.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, John Bagley was the team's starting point guard this season, averaging 7.2 points and 6.6 assists per game, and Joe Kleine provided with 4.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.^[23]

Bird and Lewis were both selected for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida, but Bird did not participate due to injury; it was Lewis's only All-Star appearance.^{[24][25][26][27]} One of the regular season highlights for Bird was a 49-point performance in a nationally televised double-overtime win over the eventual Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers.^[28][29] It was the most points for Bird since February 15, 1988, when he scored 49 against the Phoenix Suns.

In the 1992 NBA playoffs, the Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers in three straight games of the Eastern Conference First Round,^[30][31][32] then took a 2–1 series lead over the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals,^[33][34] but lost in seven games.^{[35][36][37][38]}

Following the loss, the Celtics would not win a playoff series for another ten years.

Draft picks

Main article: 1991 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	24	Rick Fox	SF	Canada	North Carolina

Roster

1991–92 Boston Celtics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From PG 5 John Bagley 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1960–04–23 Boston College SF 8 Kenny Battle 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1964–10–10 Illinois SF 33 Larry Bird 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1956–12–07 Indiana State PG 7 Dee Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1968–11–29 Jacksonville PG 20 Sherman Douglas 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1966–09–15 Syracuse SF 44 Rick Fox 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–07–24 North Carolina SF 34 Kevin Gamble 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1965–11–13 Iowa C 53 Joe Kleine 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1962–01–04 Arkansas SG 35 Reggie Lewis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1965–11–21 Northeastern PF 41 Tony Massenburg 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1967–07–31 Maryland PF 32 Kevin McHale 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957–12–19 Minnesota C 00 Robert Parish 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1953–08–30 Centenary PF 54 Ed Pinckney 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1963–03–27 Villanova PG 12 Kevin Pritchard 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1967–07–17 Kansas SG 4 Larry Robinson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1968–01–11 Centenary C 52 Stojko Vranković 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1964–01–22 Croatia

Head coach Chris Ford Assistant(s) Don Casey Jon Jennings Ed Lacerte (trainer) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: March 23, 1992

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Boston Celtics	51	31	.622	—	34–7	17–24	19–9
x-New York Knicks	51	31	.622	—	30–11	21–20	20–8
x-New Jersey Nets	40	42	.488	11	25–16	15–26	15–13
x-Miami Heat	38	44	.463	13	28–13	10–31	14–14
Philadelphia 76ers	35	47	.427	16	23–18	12–29	15–13
Washington Bullets	25	57	.305	26	14–27	11–30	7–21
Orlando Magic	21	61	.256	30	13–28	8–33	8–20

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Chicago Bulls	67	15	.817	–
2	y-Boston Celtics	51	31	.622	16
3	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	57	25	.695	10
4	x-New York Knicks	51	31	.622	16
5	x-Detroit Pistons	48	34	.585	19
6	x-New Jersey Nets	40	42	.488	27
7	x-Indiana Pacers	40	42	.488	27
8	x-Miami Heat	38	44	.463	29
9	Atlanta Hawks	38	44	.463	29
10	Philadelphia 76ers	35	47	.427	32
11	Milwaukee Bucks	31	51	.378	36
12	Charlotte Hornets	31	51	.378	36
13	Washington Bullets	25	57	.305	42
14	Orlando Magic	21	61	.256	46

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1991-92 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	3–1	2–2	0–5	0–5	2–0	2–0	1–4	1–1	2–0	1–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2
Boston	1–3	–	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	5–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1
Charlotte	2–2	1–3	–	0–4	2–3	1–1	1–1	1–4	1–1	0–2	3–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–3	1–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–2
Chicago	5–0	3–1	4–0	–	3–2	2–0	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	3–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0
Cleveland	5–0	1–3	3–2	2–3	–	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	5–0	1–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0
Dallas	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	–	3–2	0–2	0–4	4–2	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	1–4	0–2
Denver	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–3	–	0–2	0–4	2–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–4	1–3	1–5	1–1
Detroit	4–1	0–4	4–1	1–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	–	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–2	3–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Golden State	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	–	2–2	2–0	3–2	3–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	5–0	2–2	3–2	1–3	2–0
Houston	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–4	3–2	0–2	2–2	–	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	3–2	1–3	1–4	2–0
Indiana	4–1	2–2	2–3	1–3	0–5	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	–	0–2	2–0	3–1	4–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–2
L.A. Clippers	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–3	2–2	2–0	–	2–3	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–3	2–2	2–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–3	2–2	0–2	3–2	–	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–3	1–4	4–1	1–3	1–4	1–3	1–1
Miami	2–2	2–3	3–1	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	–	4–0	2–0	2–2	1–4	3–1	1–4	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–0
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	3–2	2–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–2	1–1	1–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	–	2–0	0–4	1–3	3–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Minnesota	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	1–1	0–4	2–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–2	–	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	0–6	0–4	2–3	0–2
New Jersey	1–3	3–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	4–0	2–0	–	2–3	3–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–3
New York	2–2	2–3	4–0	0–4	0–4	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	4–1	3–1	2–0	3–2	–	4–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–0
Orlando	2–2	0–5	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–3	1–4	–	3–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–3
Philadelphia	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	4–1	1–3	2–0	2–3	1–3	2–3	–	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	5–0
Phoenix	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–3	3–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	–	3–2	4–1	3–1	3–2	2–2	2–0
Portland	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	3–2	1–3	2–0	3–2	4–1	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3	–	5–0	2–2	4–1	2–2	2–0
Sacramento	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	0–5	1–3	1–1	3–2	1–4	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–4	0–5	–	1–3	1–4	1–3	2–0
San Antonio	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	5–0	4–1	1–1	2–2	2–3	0–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	6–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	–	3–1	1–4	0–2
Seattle	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–3	3–1	2–0	3–2	4–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–3	1–4	4–1	1–3	–	3–1	2–0
Utah	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	5–1	1–1	3–1	4–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–1	1–3	–	2–0
Washington	2–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	0–4	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	1–3	2–0	3–2	0–4	3–2	0–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

Playoffs

1992 playoff game log
First round: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 23 Indiana W 124–113 Reggie Lewis (32) Robert Parish (14) John Bagley (9) Boston Garden 14,890 1–0 2 April 25 Indiana W 119–112 (OT) John Bagley (35) Robert Parish (14) John Bagley (15) Boston Garden 14,890 2–0 3 April 27 @ Indiana W 102–98 Reggie Lewis (32) Ed Pinckney (14) John Bagley (11) Market Square Arena 16,530 3–0
Conference Semi-finals: 3–4 (home: 2–1; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 2 @ Cleveland L 76–101 Kevin Gamble (22) Ed Pinckney (10) John Bagley (8) Richfield Coliseum 17,496 0–1 2 May 4 @ Cleveland W 104–98 Robert Parish (27) Robert Parish (8) John Bagley (11) Richfield Coliseum 20,273 1–1 3 May 8 Cleveland W 110–107 Reggie Lewis (36) Robert Parish (17) Reggie Lewis (7) Boston Garden 14,890 2–1 4 May 10 Cleveland L 112–114 (OT) Reggie Lewis (42) Robert Parish (18) John Bagley (7) Boston Garden 14,890 2–2 5 May 13 @ Cleveland L 98–114 Reggie Lewis (27) Joe Kleine (11) John Bagley (5) Richfield Coliseum 20,273 2–3 6 May 15 Cleveland W 122–91 Reggie Lewis (26) Dee Brown (8) Larry Bird (14) Boston Garden 14,890 3–3 7 May 17 @ Cleveland L 104–122 Reggie Lewis (22) Ed Pinckney (9) Bagley, Brown (5) Richfield Coliseum 20,273 3–4
1992 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Boston Celtics statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
John Bagley	73	59	23.9	.441	.238	.716	2.2	6.6	.8	.1	7.2
Kenny Battle†	8	0	5.8	.750		1.000	1.1	.0	.1	.0	1.8
Larry Bird	45	45	36.9	.466	.406	.926	9.6	6.8	.9	.7	20.2
Dee Brown	31	20	28.5	.426	.227	.769	2.5	5.3	1.1	.2	11.7
Sherman Douglas†	37	0	17.7	.455	.111	.680	1.5	4.1	.6	.2	7.3
Rick Fox	81	5	19.0	.459	.329	.755	2.7	1.6	1.0	.4	8.0
Kevin Gamble	82	77	30.4	.529	.290	.885	3.5	2.7	.9	.5	13.5
Rickey Green	26	0	14.1	.447	.250	.722	.9	2.6	.7	.0	4.1
Joe Kleine	70	3	14.2	.491	.500	.708	4.2	.5	.3	.2	4.7
Reggie Lewis	82	82	37.4	.503	.238	.851	4.8	2.3	1.5	1.3	20.8
Tony Massenburg†	7	0	6.6	.444		.500	1.3	.0	.0	.1	1.4
Kevin McHale	56	1	25.0	.509	.000	.822	5.9	1.5	.2	1.1	13.9
Robert Parish	79	79	28.9	.535		.772	8.9	.9	.9	1.2	14.1
Ed Pinckney	81	36	23.7	.537	.000	.812	7.0	.8	.9	.7	7.6
Kevin Pritchard	11	0	12.4	.471	.000	.778	1.0	2.7	.3	.4	4.2
Larry Robinson	1	0	6.0	.200			2.0	1.0	.0	.0	2.0
Brian Shaw†	17	3	25.6	.427	.000	.875	4.1	5.2	.7	.6	10.3
Stojko Vranković	19	0	5.8	.469		.583	1.5	.3	.0	.9	1.9

Playoffs

Boston Celtics statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
John Bagley	10	10	30.8	.442	.250	.703	2.7	8.5	.9	.1	11.1
Larry Bird	4	2	26.8	.500	.000	.750	4.5	5.3	.3	.5	11.3
Dee Brown	6	0	20.0	.500	.000	.667	2.0	5.2	.2	.7	8.0
Sherman Douglas	6	0	10.8	.360	.000	.500	.7	1.7	.0	.0	3.2
Rick Fox	8	0	8.4	.478	.500	1.000	.8	.5	.3	.3	3.6
Kevin Gamble	10	10	33.5	.473	.000	.800	4.2	2.3	1.2	.6	13.6
Joe Kleine	9	0	9.1	.409	.000	1.000	2.4	.1	.0	.1	2.2
Reggie Lewis	10	10	40.8	.528	.333	.762	4.3	3.9	2.4	.8	28.0
Kevin McHale	10	0	30.6	.516	.000	.795	6.7	1.3	.5	.5	16.5
Robert Parish	10	10	33.5	.495		.714	9.7	1.4	.7	1.5	12.0
Ed Pinckney	10	8	31.4	.603	.000	.839	8.4	.7	1.2	.9	9.6
Stojko Vranković	1	0	3.0	1.000			.0	1.0	.0	.0	2.0

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Celtics only.

Player Statistics Citation:^[23]

Awards and records

• Rick Fox, NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team

Transactions