1995–96 Boston Celtics season

The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] A new era began for the Celtics as they moved into their current home, a state of the art new arena then known as the Fleet Center (now TD Garden).^[2][3][4] In addition, this also ended their practice of playing occasional home games at the Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut.^[5][6] The Celtics had the fourteenth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected Eric Williams out of Providence College.^{[7][8][9][10]} There was much speculation during the previous off-season over who would coach the team after the firing of Chris Ford, with candidates that included former Celtics coaches Dave Cowens and K. C. Jones, and even former Celtic player Paul Silas.^[11][12] Ultimately, General Manager M. L. Carr decided to hire himself as the team's new head coach.^[13][14] The Celtics also signed free agent and former Boston College star Dana Barros, who won the Most Improved Player award the previous season with the Philadelphia 76ers.^{[15][16][17][18]}

1995–96 Boston Celtics season
Head coach	M. L. Carr
General manager	Jan Volk
Owner(s)	Paul Gaston
Arena	Fleet Center
Results
Record	33–49 (.402)
Place	Division: 5th (Atlantic) Conference: 11th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WSBK-TV SportsChannel New England
Radio	WRKO
< 1994–95 1996–97 >

The Celtics started their season losing their first game at the Fleet Center, 101–100 to the Milwaukee Bucks on November 3, 1995.^[19][20] Near the end of the month, the team traded Sherman Douglas to the Bucks in exchange for Todd Day and Alton Lister,^{[21][22][23][24]} as they played around .500 with a 12–12 start. However, the magic was clearly gone for the Celtics as they lost 15 of their next 18 games, holding a 17–30 record at the All-Star break,^[25] finishing fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 33–49 record, and failing to qualify for the playoffs.^[26][27]

Dino Radja led the team with 19.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, but was out for the remainder of the season with an ankle injury after 53 games,^[28][29][30] while Rick Fox averaged 14.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and Barros provided the team with 13.0 points and 3.8 assists per game, and also led them with 150 three-point field goals. In addition, David Wesley contributed 12.3 points and 4.8 assists per game, while Williams and Dee Brown both provided with 10.7 points per game each, and second-year guard Greg Minor contributed 9.6 points per game. On the defensive side, second-year center Eric Montross averaged 7.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, but only played 61 games due to a sprained ankle,^[30][31] and Pervis Ellison provided with 5.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.^[32]

Following the season, Montross was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft.^[33][34][35]

Draft picks

Main article: 1995 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	14	Eric Williams	SF	United States	Providence
2	33	Junior Burrough	SF	United States	Virginia

Roster

1995–96 Boston Celtics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 11 Barros, Dana 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 163 lb (74 kg) 1967–04–13 Boston College G 7 Brown, Dee 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1968–11–29 Jacksonville F 5 Burrough, Junior 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 242 lb (110 kg) 1973–01–18 Virginia G 13 Day, Todd 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1970–01–07 Arkansas F 29 Ellison, Pervis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1967–04–03 Louisville F 44 Fox, Rick 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–07–24 North Carolina C 53 Lister, Alton 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1958–10–01 Arizona State G 9 Minor, Greg 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1971–09–18 Louisville C 0 Montross, Eric  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) 1971–09–23 North Carolina C 51 Mundt, Todd 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1970–05–17 Delta State F 40 Radja, Dino  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1967–04–24 Croatia F 34 Smith, Doug  6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1969–09–17 Missouri G 4 Wesley, David 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970–11–14 Baylor F 55 Williams, Eric 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1972–07–17 Providence

Head coach M. L. Carr Assistant coach(es) Don Casey Dennis Johnson John Kuester Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
y–Orlando Magic	60	22	.732	12.0	37‍–‍4	23‍–‍18	21–3	82
x–New York Knicks	47	35	.573	25.0	26‍–‍15	21‍–‍20	16–8	82
x–Miami Heat	42	40	.512	30.0	26‍–‍15	16‍–‍25	13–12	82
Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	33.0	25‍–‍16	14‍–‍27	10–14	82
Boston Celtics	33	49	.402	39.0	18‍–‍23	15‍–‍26	12–12	82
New Jersey Nets	30	52	.366	42.0	20‍–‍21	10‍–‍31	8–17	82
Philadelphia 76ers	18	64	.220	54.0	11‍–‍30	7‍–‍34	5–19	82

Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	z–Chicago Bulls	72	10	.878	–	82
2	y–Orlando Magic	60	22	.732	12.0	82
3	x–Indiana Pacers	52	30	.634	20.0	82
4	x–Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	25.0	82
5	x–New York Knicks	47	35	.573	25.0	82
6	x–Atlanta Hawks	46	36	.561	26.0	82
7	x–Detroit Pistons	46	36	.561	26.0	82
8	x–Miami Heat	42	40	.512	30.0	82
9	Charlotte Hornets	41	41	.500	31.0	82
10	Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	33.0	82
11	Boston Celtics	33	49	.402	39.0	82
12	New Jersey Nets	30	52	.366	42.0	82
13	Milwaukee Bucks	25	57	.305	47.0	82
14	Toronto Raptors	21	61	.256	51.0	82
15	Philadelphia 76ers	18	64	.220	54.0	82

Record vs. opponents

1995-96 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	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	–	4–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–0	2–1	2–2	2–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–3
Boston	0–4	–	2–2	0–3	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	0–4	1–3	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–2
Charlotte	1–3	2–2	–	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	0–3	3–0	0–4	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1
Chicago	4–0	3–0	3–1	–	4–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	3–0	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	4–0
Cleveland	1–3	3–1	1–3	0–4	–	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	1–2	3–1	1–2	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Dallas	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	–	2–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
Denver	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	–	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1
Detroit	2–2	1–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	–	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	4–0	0–4	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–2
Golden State	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	0–2	–	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	4–0	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	–	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	–	2–0	1–1	3–0	3–1	1–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	–	0–4	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–3	3–1	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	4–0	–	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Miami	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	0–3	1–1	0–2	–	3–0	1–1	5–0	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–1	0–2	1–1	2–2
Milwaukee	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–3	–	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3
Minnesota	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	–	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2
New Jersey	0–4	2–2	3–0	0–3	2–1	1–1	2–0	0–4	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	3–1	1–1	–	2–2	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–2
New York	1–2	4–0	0–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–2	–	1–3	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	3–1
Orlando	2–2	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	–	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	4–0
Philadelphia	1–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	–	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–3
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	–	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0
Portland	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	0–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	–	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–3	2–2	0–2
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	–	1–3	0–4	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2
San Antonio	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–2	4–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	–	2–2	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Seattle	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	0–2	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	4–0	2–2	–	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1
Toronto	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–4	1–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	–	0–2	1–1	3–1
Utah	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–3	2–0	–	4–0	1–1
Vancouver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	0–4	–	0–2
Washington	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	0–4	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	—

Game log

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
Dana Barros	80	25	29.1	.470	.408	.884	2.4	3.8	.7	.0	13.0
Dee Brown	65	23	24.5	.399	.309	.854	2.1	2.2	1.2	.2	10.7
Junior Burrough	61	3	8.1	.376		.656	1.8	.2	.2	.2	3.1
Charles Claxton	3	0	2.3	.500		.000	.7	.0	.0	.3	.7
Todd Day†	71	12	23.0	.371	.343	.766	2.8	1.4	1.1	.7	12.0
Sherman Douglas†	10	4	23.4	.429	.143	.625	2.3	3.9	.2	.0	9.8
Pervis Ellison	69	29	20.7	.492		.641	6.5	.9	.6	1.4	5.3
Rick Fox	81	81	32.0	.454	.364	.772	5.6	4.6	1.4	.5	14.0
Thomas Hamilton	11	0	6.4	.290		.389	2.0	.1	.0	.8	2.3
Alton Lister†	57	14	11.4	.490		.629	4.4	.3	.1	.7	2.3
Greg Minor	78	47	22.6	.500	.259	.762	3.3	1.9	.5	.1	9.6
Eric Montross	61	59	23.5	.566		.376	5.8	.7	.3	.5	7.2
Todd Mundt†	9	0	3.7	.333			.3	.1	.1	.1	.7
Dino Rađa	53	52	37.4	.500		.695	9.8	1.6	.9	1.5	19.7
Doug Smith	17	2	5.4	.359		.625	1.3	.2	.2	.0	1.9
Larry Sykes	1	0	2.0				2.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
David Wesley	82	53	25.7	.459	.426	.753	3.2	4.8	1.2	.1	12.3
Eric Williams	64	6	23.0	.441	.300	.671	3.4	1.1	.9	.2	10.7

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

Awards and records

Transactions

Main article: List of 1995-96 NBA season transactions

Overview

Players Added Via draft Junior Burrough Eric Williams Via free agency Dana Barros Thomas Hamilton Todd Mundt Doug Smith Via trade Todd Day Alton Lister

Players Lost Via free agency Jay Humphries Xavier McDaniel Derek Strong Via trade Sherman Douglas Waived Charles Claxton Larry Sykes Fred Vinson Dominique Wilkins

Trades

November 25, 1995	To Boston Celtics Todd Day Alton Lister	To Milwaukee Bucks Sherman Douglas
June 21, 1996	To Boston Celtics 1996 First-Round Pick 1997 First-Round Pick	To Dallas Mavericks Eric Montross 1996 First-Round Pick

Player Transactions Citation:^[36]

References

1. 1995-96 Boston Celtics
2. Cavanaugh, Jack (April 16, 1995). "BACKTALK; The Last Days of a Garden Where Memories Grew". The New York Times. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
3. Araton, Harvey (April 22, 1995). "ON PRO BASKETBALL; A Not-So-Fond Farewell to a Shrine". The New York Times. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
4. Greenberg, Alan (October 26, 1995). "Celtics Playing in Lap of Luxury". Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
5. Arace, Michael (April 15, 1995). "Civic Center Farewell for Celtics?". Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
6. Arace, Michael (August 2, 1995). "1995 Celtics Exhibition Schedule". Hartford Courant. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
7. Wise, Mike (June 29, 1995). "PRO BASKETBALL; Underclassmen Rule Atop N.B.A. Draft Board". The New York Times. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
8. Heisler, Mark (June 29, 1995). "NBA Is a Young Man's Game: Draft: Smith, McDyess, Stackhouse, Wallace and Garnett Lead the Way". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
9. "First-Round Selections in the 1995 NBA Draft". Hartford Courant. June 29, 1995. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
10. "1995 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
11. Arace, Michael (May 18, 1995). "Ford Reaches Point of No Return with Celtics". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
12. Arace, Michael (June 19, 1995). "Celtics Should Borrow Knicks' List of Coaches". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
13. "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Celtics Gamble on Carr". The New York Times. June 20, 1995. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
14. Greenberg, Alan (June 20, 1995). "Initially, M.L. Wasn't on List of Prospects". Hartford Courant. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
15. "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Barros Follows Road Home to the Celtics". The New York Times. September 23, 1995. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
16. "Former Sonic Barros Signs Contract with Celtics, Creating a Backcourt Log-Jam". The Spokesman-Review. Wire Services. September 23, 1995. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
17. "Celtics Bring Barros Home". Tampa Bay Times. September 23, 1995. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
18. Greenberg, Alan (September 24, 1995). "Carr Still Not on the Money". Hartford Courant. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
19. Greenberg, Alan (November 4, 1995). "Celtics Meet Their Match, Still Lose". Hartford Courant. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
20. "Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics Box Score, November 3, 1995". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
21. "Douglas Traded for Day, Lister". United Press International. November 26, 1995. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
22. "Celtics Trade Douglas to Bucks". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. November 27, 1995. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
23. "Faltering Bucks Get Douglas from Celtics". Chicago Tribune. November 27, 1995. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
24. "Celtics Trade Douglas for Lister, Day". Deseret News. Associated Press. November 27, 1995. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
25. "NBA Games Played on February 8, 1996". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
26. Greenberg, Alan (April 22, 1996). "Once-Proud Teams Bottoming Out". Hartford Courant. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
27. "1995–96 Boston Celtics Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
28. "Celtics' Dino Radja Has Severe Sprain, Put on Injured List". Greensboro. Wire Reports. March 1, 1996. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
29. "Basketball Briefs". Deseret News. March 2, 1996. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
30. Brown, Clifton (April 10, 1996). "BASKETBALL; Tough Times for Knicks' Offense, But Defensive Effort Saves the Day". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
31. "Heat 111, Celtics 95". United Press International. March 24, 1996. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
32. "1995–96 Boston Celtics Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
33. "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Celtics Trade Montross to Mavericks". The New York Times. June 22, 1996. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
34. "Celtics Trade Montross, Move Up in Draft". Los Angeles Times. Staff and Wire Reports. June 22, 1996. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
35. Greenberg, Alan (June 22, 1996). "Mavs Trade Sixth Pick to Celtics". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
36. "1995–96 Boston Celtics Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 14, 2021.

See also

• 1995–96 NBA season