The 1985–86 Boston Celtics season was the 40th season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They finished with the best record in the league at 67–15, including a 40–1 record at home (37–1 at the Boston Garden, 3–0 at the Hartford Civic Center). Those 40 home wins set an NBA record which would only be matched by the San Antonio Spurs in 2016. Arguably considered the best Celtics team ever, and widely regarded among the greatest teams in NBA history, their 67 total wins were one win shy of tying their franchise record of 68 wins set in 1973, and tied for fifth all-time.

Larry Bird won his third consecutive MVP award and Bill Walton won the Sixth Man of the Year Award. The team was anchored by the "Big Three" frontcourt of Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, which is frequently ranked among the best frontcourts in NBA history.

In the playoffs, the Celtics swept the Chicago Bulls in three games in the First Round, then defeated the Atlanta Hawks in five games in the Semi-finals, before sweeping the Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals for a third consecutive season. In the NBA Finals, the Celtics faced off against the Houston Rockets in a rematch of the 1981 NBA Finals, which the Celtics won in six games, winning every home game in the playoffs. The Celtics would go on to win their 16th championship and the last for 22 years, defeating the Houston Rockets in six games in the NBA Finals, and had won 82 combined regular season and playoff games, a record that stood until the Chicago Bulls racked up 87 combined wins en route to a title in 1996 (with the Golden State Warriors later breaking that record in 2016 with 88 combined wins, including a 73–9 regular season record, although they infamously lost in the finals that season after leading the series 3–1). HoopsHype later ranked this squad as the team with the 17th easiest path to the NBA Finals in 2024 due to the 30–52 record of their first round opponent, the Chicago Bulls.

NBA draft The 1985 NBA draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA Draft of the "Lottery" era. The lottery was put into place so teams could not intentionally lose games to receive the number one pick. Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 1 20 Sam Vincent Guard Michigan State 3 70 Andre Battle Guard Loyola (IL) 4 93 Cliff Webber Forward Liberty Baptist 5 116 Albert Butts Forward La Salle 6 139 Ralph Lewis Guard La Salle 7 162 Chris Remly Rutgers

Season Synopsis The Celtics were coming from a 6-game NBA Finals series against their arch-rival the Los Angeles Lakers. They ended with a record 63-19 during the regular season, a league-best record, earning home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

October/November They started their 1985–86 season campaign with a 109-113 OT loss to the New Jersey Nets, despite a near quadruple-double performance from Larry Bird, who recorded 21 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 8 steals for the Celtics. The next day, Kevin McHale's 26 points and 15 rebounds led the Celtics towards a 105–100 road win over the Cavaliers. Four days later, the Celtics defeated the visiting Bucks, 117–106, with Bird, McHale, Parish and Johnson, all scoring at least 20 points. They ended the month of October with a 2–1 record, and were 15-2 at the end of November.

Regular season Under head coach K. C. Jones, the 1985–86 Boston Celtics finished the regular season with a record of 67–15. This team is generally considered to be the best of Larry Bird's career. In addition to longtime Celtics Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, the franchise was joined on the front line by former NBA MVP Bill Walton. Despite a career plagued by a series of serious injuries to his knees, ankles and feet, Walton would win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award. Walton had missed essentially the past two seasons and the Los Angeles Clippers put him on the trade bloc as his contract ran out. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Celtics were both interested, but the Lakers wanted Walton to be cleared by their team doctor before making any trade. The Celtics, on the other hand, were willing to trade former Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell for Walton-based solely on his word that he felt he was healthy enough to play. Walton appeared in a career high 80 games. The backcourt was led by the MVP of the 1979 NBA Finals, defensive stopper Dennis Johnson, and former Toronto Blue Jays baseball player, shooting guard Danny Ainge. Off the bench, the Celtics featured former All-Star Scott Wedman and recent acquisition (from the Indiana Pacers) Jerry Sichting.

Season standings

Game log

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | October 25, 1985 | @ New Jersey | L 109–113 (OT) | Bird (21) | Bird (12) | Bird (10) | Brendan Byrne Arena13,095 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | October 26, 1985 | @ Cleveland | W 105–100 | McHale (21) | McHale (15) | Johnson (5) | Richfield Coliseum20,900 | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | October 30, 19857:30p.m. EST | Milwaukee | W 117–106 | McHale (25) | Parish (13) | Ainge,Bird (5) | Boston Garden14,890 | 2–1

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | November 1, 1985 | Atlanta | W 109–105 | Bird (25) | McHale (10) | Johnson (9) | Boston Garden14,890 | 3–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | November 2, 1985 | @ Washington | W 88–73 | Ainge (20) | Parish (10) | Bird (8) | Capital Centre17,488 | 4–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 6 | November 8, 1985 | Phoenix | W 125–101 | Parish (25) | Parish (10) | Bird (10) | Boston Garden14,890 | 5–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 7 | November 9, 1985 | @ Detroit | W 124–105 | Bird (29) | McHale (11) | Johnson (7) | Pontiac Silverdome25,148 | 6–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 8 | November 13, 1985 | Indiana | W 118–114 | Johnson (30) | Bird (15) | Bird (7) | Boston Garden14,890 | 7–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 9 | November 15, 1985 | Washington | W 118–114 | Ainge (24) | Bird (11) | Ainge (9) | Boston Garden14,890 | 8–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 10 | November 16, 1985 | @ Indiana | L 109–111 | Bird (33) | Parish (10) | Ainge (7) | Market Square Arena16,904 | 8–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 11 | November 20, 1985 | Utah | W 115–106 (OT) | Bird (27) | Parish (17) | Ainge (7) | Boston Garden14,890 | 9–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 12 | November 22, 1985 | Philadelphia | W 110–103 | McHale (32) | Parish (12) | Bird (6) | Boston Garden14,890 | 10–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 13 | November 23, 1985 | @ New York | W 113–104 | Parish (27) | Parish (12) | Bird (10) | Madison Square Garden19,591 | 11–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 14 | November 26, 1985 | @ Philadelphia | W 98–91 | Parish (22) | McHale (13) | Bird (11) | The Spectrum17,921 | 12–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 15 | November 27, 1985 | Detroit | W 132–124 | Bird (47) | Bird (12) | Ainge,Johnson (5) | Boston Garden14,890 | 13–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 16 | November 29, 1985 | New York | W 94–88 | Bird (31) | Bird (15) | Johnson (7) | Boston Garden14,890 | 14–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 17 | November 30, 1985 | @ Atlanta | W 102–97 | Bird (28) | McHale (8) | Johnson (8) | The Omni13,101 | 15–2

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 18 | December 3, 19858:30p.m. EST | @ Milwaukee | W 112–109 | McHale (29) | McHale (10) | Ainge (6) | MECCA Arena11,052 | 16–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 19 | December 4, 1985 | @ New Jersey | W 130–111 | Johnson (23) | Walton (13) | Ainge,Bird,McHale (5) | Brendan Byrne Arena15,169 | 17–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 20 | December 6, 1985 | Portland | L 103–121 | Bird (20) | Bird (11) | Ainge (9) | Boston Garden14,890 | 17–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 21 | December 10, 1985 | Atlanta | W 114–110 | McHale,Parish (24) | Parish (10) | Johnson (9) | Hartford Civic Center14,493 | 18–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 22 | December 11, 1985 | Sacramento | W 118–101 | Bird (24) | Bird (7) | Ainge,Bird (5) | Boston Garden14,890 | 19–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 23 | December 14, 1985 | @ Cleveland | L 99–109 | Bird (31) | McHale (12) | Ainge (9) | Richfield Coliseum15,349 | 19–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 24 | December 15, 1985 | Chicago | W 109–104 | Bird (34) | Parish (15) | Ainge (9) | Boston Garden14,890 | 20–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 25 | December 17, 1985 | @ Chicago | L 108–116 | Johnson (25) | Parish (15) | Johnson (8) | Chicago Stadium13,786 | 20–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 26 | December 18, 1985 | Dallas | W 137–117 | Bird (35) | McHale (10) | Ainge (13) | Boston Garden14,890 | 21–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 27 | December 21, 1985 | @ Philadelphia | L 102–108 | McHale (34) | McHale (10) | Ainge (9) | The Spectrum17,941 | 21–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 28 | December 25, 1985 | @ New York | L 104–113 (2OT) | McHale (29) | Parish (18) | Ainge (8) | Madison Square Garden17,480 | 21–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 29 | December 28, 1985 | @ Utah | W 110–108 | Bird,McHale (24) | Parish (10) | Bird (8) | Salt Palace12,702 | 22–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 30 | December 30, 1985 | @ L.A. Clippers | W 125–103 | McHale (22) | McHale (18) | Bird (8) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena14,977 | 23–7

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 31 | January 2, 1986 | @ Indiana | W 122–104 | Johnson (29) | Bird (13) | Bird (8) | Market Square Arena14,974 | 24–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 32 | January 3, 1986 | New Jersey | W 129–117 | Bird (29) | Bird (10) | Johnson (8) | Boston Garden14,890 | 25–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 33 | January 7, 1986 | @ Detroit | L 109–113 | McHale (29) | Bird (12) | Bird (8) | Pontiac Silverdome17,421 | 25–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 34 | January 8, 1986 | Cleveland | W 126–95 | Bird (25) | McHale (13) | Bird (7) | Boston Garden14,890 | 26–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 35 | January 10, 1986 | Atlanta | W 115–108 | Bird (29) | Parish (15) | Johnson (8) | Boston Garden14,890 | 27–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 36 | January 15, 1986 | Denver | W 123–100 | McHale (33) | Bird (14) | Bird (9) | Boston Garden14,890 | 28–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 37 | January 17, 1986 | @ Indiana | W 123–105 | McHale (28) | Bird (9) | Bird (8) | Market Square Arena16,904 | 29–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 38 | January 18, 1986 | @ Atlanta | W 125–122 (OT) | Bird (41) | McHale (12) | Ainge (12) | The Omni16,522 | 30–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 39 | January 22, 19868:00p.m. EST | L.A. Lakers | W 110–95 | Johnson (22) | Bird (12) | Ainge (8) | Boston Garden14,890 | 31–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 40 | January 24, 1986 | Golden State | W 135–114 | Bird (25) | Wedman (13) | Johnson (7) | Boston Garden14,890 | 32–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 41 | January 26, 1986 | Philadelphia | W 105–103 | Bird (28) | Bird (14) | Bird (6) | Boston Garden14,890 | 33–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 42 | January 30, 1986 | @ Chicago | W 101–91 | Bird (26) | Parish (16) | Johnson (8) | Chicago Stadium15,207 | 34–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 43 | January 31, 1986 | @ Washington | W 97–88 | Wedman (24) | Parish (14) | Ainge (9) | Capital Centre19,123 | 35–8

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 44 | February 2, 1986 | Seattle | W 114–101 | Johnson (24) | Bird (11) | Johnson (7) | Boston Garden14,890 | 36–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 45 | February 4, 19868:30p.m. EST | @ Milwaukee | W 112–93 | Bird (24) | Bird (9) | Johnson (8) | MECCA Arena11,052 | 37–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 46 | February 5, 1986 | Washington | W 103–88 | Bird (26) | Walton (17) | Bird,Johnson (6) | Boston Garden14,890 | 38–8 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"