Bob Cousy earned All-NBA First Team honors 10 years in a row, the most in franchise history.
The Celtics are one of the most successful franchises in NBA history, both individually and collectively. Several players have been named to All-NBA honors, and this is reflected in the accolades they have clinched while donning the Boston jersey.
Here are the players who have had the honor of earning All-NBA nods in franchise history.
Bob Cousy – 10 times (1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961)
Cousy is the Boston player with the most All-NBA nods in franchise history after being named to the All-NBA First Team in 10 straight seasons. He was a key player for a Boston team that also featured another all-time great in Bill Russell. Cousy was an instrumental facilitator and scorer during the early part of the Celtics’ legendary dynasty. During Cousy’s 10-year run of All-NBA First Team nods, the star guard played 697 games with Boston and averaged 19.7 points, 7.9 assists and 5.5 rebounds per contest.
Larry Bird – 9 times (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988)
Bird was named to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in the 1979-80 season after averaging 21.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game as a rookie, and he never looked back. The forward, widely considered one of the best small forwards in NBA history, made the All-NBA First Team in his first nine seasons in The Association. He also earned three MVP awards in that stretch. During those nine years, Bird averaged 25.0 points, 10.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.8 steals.
Bill Sharman – 4 times (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959)
Sharman was an eight-time All-Star across his 11-year career in The Association, and he was one of the most important players in a Celtics roster that was the class of the NBA during a championship-filled run. Sharman experienced the prime years of his career in the four consecutive years he was named to the All-NBA First Team. During that four-year dominant stretch, Sharman averaged 20.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game across 274 regular-season appearances.
Jayson Tatum – 4 times (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
Tatum is the leader of the current generation of Celtics players, and the star forward is firmly entrenched as one of the best players in the NBA right now. Tatum has earned All-NBA First Team nods in his last four campaigns in the NBA, a dominant stretch in which he’s averaging 27.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and a combined 1.6 steals-plus-blocks. Tatum has also been named to the All-Star Game while finishing in the Top 10 in the MVP race in those four seasons.
John Havlicek – 4 times (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974)
Havlicek earned All-NBA First Team nods in four straight seasons between 1970-71 and 1973-74, a span in which he was one of the most dominant scorers in The Association. Hondo averaged 25.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game during those four years. He was an All-Star in 13 of his 16 years in the league, all of which were with the Celtics.
Ed Macauley – 3 times (1951, 1952, 1953)
Macauley played his rookie year with the St. Louis Bombers and later played six years with the Boston Celtics. He was named to the All-NBA First Team three times in consecutive years—1950-51, 1951-52, and 1952-53. In those three years, Macauley averaged 20.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. He earned seven All-Star nods during his career, six of which came as a member of the Celtics.
Bill Russell – 3 times (1959, 1963, 1965)
Russell is an icon who achieved his legendary status during the Celtics’ dominant run in the 1960s, and he was named to the All-NBA First Team three times during that span. That’s somewhat surprising given that the star big man won the MVP award five times and was an All-Star in 12 of his 13 years in the NBA. Russell won the MVP in two of the seasons in which he was also named to the All-NBA First Team. It must be noted that Russell’s prime came in a golden age of bigs in the NBA, so he was often battling with Wilt Chamberlain for the center spot on the NBA’s First-Team list.
Ed Sadowski – 1 time (1948)
Sadowski played four seasons in the NBA and earned his lone All-NBA First Team nod in the 1947-48 campaign. The 6-foot-5 forward averaged 19.4 points per game during his lone year with Boston.
Kevin Garnett – 1 time (2008)
Garnett made the All-NBA First Team four times in his career, but he earned the first three nods during his prolific time with the Minnesota Timberwolves. His lone All-NBA First Team nod with the Celtics came in his first season with the franchise in 2007-08, a year in which Garnett also made the All-Star Game, was named the Defensive Player of the Year, and finished in third place in the MVP race. He also helped guide the Celtics to a title that season. Garnett averaged 18.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game across 71 regular-season contests.
Kevin McHale – 1 time (1987)
McHale was a key player for the Celtics during the 1980s, and he had one of the best seasons of his career during the 1986-87 season. During his lone All-NBA First Team nod, McHale averaged 26.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.2 blocks per contest. He averaged career-high marks in points and boards per game in that stretch.
