The Boston Celtics have won an NBA-record 17 titles in the nearly eight-decade history of the storied ball club, putting their players in a great position in terms of the percentage of games they have won in the postseason.
And while the bulk of those titles came to Boston in the epic run of the Celtics as the dynasty of NBA dynasties in the late 1950s and early 1960s under the tenure of Hall of Fame Celtics Bill Russell and Sam Jones, a fair amount of playoff series were won in the Boston resurgence of the 1980s during the “Original Big Three” era of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale, John Havlicek nearly bridging the gap between the two reigns.
Let’s dive into which Boston alumni had the best winning percentages in the playoffs (h/t Hoops Hype for the data).
Robert Parish – Out of 37 series played: 67.6%
(AP Photo)
Kevin McHale – Out of 33 series played: 69.7%
(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Shaquile O’Neal – Out of 45 series played: 71.1%
Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Dennis Johnson – Out of 35 series played: 71.4%
(AP Photo/Mike Cullen)
Larry Bird – Out of 32 series played: 71.9%
MPS-USA TODAY Sports
Danny Ainge – Out of 37 series played: 73.0%
(AP Photo)
John Havlicek – Out of 31 series played: 83.9%
Boston Herald file photo
Sam Jones – Out of 27 series played: 92.6%
(AP Photo/Frank C. Curtin)
Bill Russell – Out of 29 series played: 93.1%
Darryl Norenberg-USA TODAY Sports
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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire