Free Republic

BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics again stand alone among NBA champions. Jayson Tatum had 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as the Celtics topped the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 on Monday night to win the franchise’s 18th championship, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in league history. Boston earned its latest title on the 16th anniversary of hoisting its last Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2008. It marks the 13th championship won this century by one of the city’s Big 4 professional sports franchises. Jaylen Brown added 21 points and was voted the NBA Finals MVP....

Boston Celtics’ Catholic coach leaves reporters speechless with simple answer about Christian faith I wonder how many of those have been Christian coaches, Boston Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla said when asked if he took ;pride; in the fact that the head coaches of both teams in this year’s NBA Finals are black. BOSTON (LifeSiteNews) — The head coach of the National Basketball Association’s Boston Celtics again left reporters speechless after his team took a 2-0 lead against the Dallas Mavericks in this year’s NBA Finals. Joe Mazzulla, 35, has been at the helm of the historic Celtics franchise since mid-season last...

The Nets fired Steve Nash on Tuesday amid a disappointing 2-5 start that has been marred by off-court drama, including Kyrie Irving’s social media promotion of an anti-Semitic film. The team’s interim head coach is Jacque Vaughn. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania both reported that the Nets plan to hire Udoka to replace Nash. Udoka was suspended by the Celtics for at least a year after an investigation revealed that he had an affair with a female subordinate. Charania reported in The Athletic that Udoka also made “unwanted comments” to the woman, and Wojnarowski reported that the...

Bill Russell, NBA Hall of Famer, passed away peacefully on Sunday at age 88, his family announced. During his remarkable career, Russell won 11 championships in 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics. He was also a leader in civil rights and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Photo via @wbzsports

BOSTON (AP) — Bill Russell, the NBA great who anchored a Boston Celtics dynasty that won 11 championships in 13 years — the last two as the first Black head coach in any major U.S. sport — and marched for civil rights with Martin Luther King Jr., died Sunday. He was 88. His family posted the news on social media, saying Russell died with his wife, Jeannine, by his side. The statement did not give the cause of death.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The ball was moving, the shots were falling and the arena was rocking in a very familiar third quarter for the Golden State Warriors. Then came the fourth quarter and a surprising collapse by the more experienced team as the Warriors dropped a rare Game 1 of a playoff series under coach Steve Kerr, losing the opener of the NBA Finals 120-108 to the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. The Warriors turned a 12-point lead after three quarters into an 12-point loss in a shocking turnaround that silenced a boisterous crowd that had been celebrating Golden...

Ten people have been taken into custody after 17 were shot in Milwaukee Friday evening near the Bucks-Celtics basketball game, police said Saturday. Nine firearms were recovered from the scene, after dozens were seen fleeing, Milwaukee police said. "Everybody started running," witness Brittany Bergstrom, who was at a nearby restaurant, told FOX 6 in Milwaukee. "There was a stampede, people running over the shrubs, hats shoes on the ground, drinks spilled everywhere." She said her boyfriend pulled her behind a brick wall, "and if he wouldn't have this outcome would be a lot different. And that's all I know and...

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter is changing his name to “Enes Kanter Freedom” to celebrate becoming a United States citizen. Kanter’s manager, Hank Fetic, told The Associated Press that Kanter is will have his citizenship oath ceremony on Monday afternoon and at the same time will complete his legal name change. The news was first reported by the Athletic. Kanter, 29, is a native of Turkey who has been an outspoken critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Turkish government. Kanter has said his passport was revoked by his homeland in 2017.

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith blasted the Boston Celtics for making Brad Stevens their new general manager, suggesting that Stevens got the job because he is white. “It’s moments like this where I get on people’s nerves — particularly, white America and in the NBA community specifically, because I point out it’s beautiful to be a white guy,” Smith said Wednesday on ESPN’s First Take. Smith noted that as a coach, Brad Stevens did generally good, but not stellar, work with the Celtic this season. However, despite Stevens’ record, Smith was angered that the job did not go to a...

Tom Heinsohn, whose association with the Boston Celtics spanned six decades as a player, coach, and broadcaster, has died, according to multiple people affiliated with the NBA. He was 86.

When the NBA restarted in Orlando in the midst of the surging social justice movement, there was some concern among players that the games could become a distraction and stall the momentum of the initiative. Players have worked to keep the movement in the forefront, from kneeling during the national anthem to dedicating large segments of their media sessions to raising awareness. But some are unsure if that is enough. In the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Wisconsin, Raptors players said they held a team meeting Tuesday in which they discussed how to take further...

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have purchased a nearly 7,000-square-foot home on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts for $11.75 million, according to a report. The purchase price was recorded Wednesday with the local Registry of Deeds, the Vineyard Gazette reported. The Obamas paid about half the original asking price for the property

BOSTON -- “Havlicek stole the ball! Havlicek stole the ball! It’s all over!” One of the most iconic moments in Boston Celtics lore, no one will ever forget the call in the 1965 NBA Eastern Conference Finals made by announcer Johnny Most or the player who made a play for the ages, John Havlicek. Havlicek, the Celtics’ all-time leading scorer (26,395 points) and one of the most decorated players to ever don a Celtics uniform, passed away on Thursday. He was 79. The Celtics released the following statement upon announcing Havlicek's passing: John Havlicek is one of the most accomplished...

Do blame me, I’m from Massachusetts. The commonwealth ranks as the most intolerant state in the U.S. Don’t blame me too much, though. I live in Worcester County, tied for the most tolerant county in Massachusetts. Sure, nationwide it’s in the 99th percentile, “which means,” according to the PredictWise survey, “that 1 out of every 100 counties is more prejudiced against the political ‘other.’” But at least I don’t live in Suffolk (home to the Boston Globe), Middlesex (home to Harvard and MIT), or the six other Bay State counties that rank in the 100th percentile. You see, my county,...

Willie Naulls, a four-time All-Star forward with the Knicks, a member of three consecutive N.B.A. championship teams with the Boston Celtics and one of pro basketball’s early black stars, died on Thursday at his home in Laguna Niguel, Calif. He was 84. The cause was respiratory failure resulting from Churg-Strauss syndrome, a rare condition that can restrict blood flow to vital organs and tissues, his wife, Dr. Anne Van de Water Naulls, said. A fine outside shooter and a rugged rebounder at 6 feet 6 inches and 225 pounds or so, Naulls was an All-American at U.C.L.A. in 1956, his...

The Boston Celtics' early season struggles continued on Wednesday night with a 117-109 loss to the New York Knicks. Down by as much as 26, the Celtics made a big comeback in the fourth quarter, but fell short, largely due to some clutch shooting by Trey Burke. Now just 9-9 on the season, there will be plenty to discuss in regards to the Celtics' inability to meet expectations. At the same time, there will also be plenty of discussion about one of Kyrie Irving's postgame quotes, in which he made it clear he doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving. MassLive's Tom Westerholm was...

There, in the crowd at President Donald Trump’s rally in Duluth, Minn., was NBA legend Kevin McHale.

Bill Sharman helped the Boston Celtics win championships as a player and led the Lakers to their first NBA title in Los Angeles as a coach in 1972. He spent 35 years with the team... Sharman — who died Friday at 87 — will be remembered as the man who molded the Lakers into an elite franchise, guiding the 1971-72 squad to a historic 33 consecutive victories and an NBA title, their first in Los Angeles...

If the Redskins change their name, shouldn't the Celtics change their name to something like Chowderheads.

Two weeks ago we were writing about a terrorist attack, today we’re writing about gay basketball players. A blogger’s life for me, my friends.Easy prediction: 75 percent of the public will be casually supportive or casually disapproving but either way almost entirely indifferent. Fifteen percent, including lots of pols, celebrities, and the media, will support him enthusiastically. The other 10 percent will hassle him on the court or from the stands either because they dislike gays or just to spite the 15 percent of “opinion leaders” on the other side. Collins will get a standing O at his first home...