5 Celtics villains from the 1980s
Boston faced a series of worthy adversaries during one of the team's most successful eras.
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The 1980s represented one of the best eras in the history of the Boston Celtics. Both in terms of winning (three banners were added to the crowded Boston Garden rafters) and also in star power. An array of Hall of Fame talent dazzled fans.
As a direct result of the team’s relevance and success, the Celtics also faced an impressive list of opponents in the decade. Whether it was the 76ers in the early ’80s, the Pistons in the latter part of the decade, or the Lakers essentially throughout, Boston had no lack of worthy adversaries.
Here’s a look at some of the villains who the Celtics faced during the ’80s.
Bill Laimbeer
Few American athletes have personified the stereotypical definition of a sports villain better than Laimbeer. Born in Boston only a few weeks before the Celtics won the team’s first NBA championship, Laimbeer – who grew up mostly in Chicago and California – would become a nemesis to the city of his birth.
“I know I’m not a pretty basketball player,” Laimbeer told the Los Angeles Times in 1988. “I know I play ugly. But I play with what I have.”
Exactly what the 6’11” Laimbeer had was a talent for rebounding, shooting (unusually efficient for his size), and getting in his opponent’s head. In the classic Celtics-Pistons rivalry, Laimbeer left a distinct impression on both Boston fans and players.
“He was a dirty player,” Larry Bird said in a 2013 interview, admitting that Laimbeer “tried to hurt you.”
Laimbeer’s incessant elbowing was enough to draw the ire of the usually calm Robert Parish in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals. Boston’s center threw punches, but wasn’t ejected.
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Andrew Toney
Toney was a Boston villain for far different reasons than Laimbeer. Described as a “quiet enigma,” he was prolific against the Celtics in several playoffs series.
“My first step out of the locker room, I was in range,” Toney told Jackie MacMullan in 1991. “It was easy. I have no explanation for it. It was just easy for me to score at Boston Garden.”
His reputation earned him the lasting nickname “the Boston stranger.” Red Auerbach continually acquired new players, hoping to find someone who could guard Toney. Yet the 76ers guard regularly dismantled Boston’s defense, including a 34-point effort in Game 7 of the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals (which Philadelphia won).
Tree Rollins
Nicknamed “Tree” for his size, the 7’1″ center earned the scorn of Celtics fans for his actions in Game 3 of the Hawks’ first round series against Boston in 1983. In the third quarter of a physical game, Rollins clashed with Danny Ainge.
According to Rollins, it was over a well-placed pick he’d used against the Celtics guard.
“We ran a play called ‘One Swing,'” Rollins told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “Mike Glenn came down the middle and I would come off the bottom of the lane and set the pick. Back then, you could really stick someone. I got Ainge with a rock solid pick. Back then, when you made a legal pick the official would clap his hands.”
Yet the fight between them began was actions that Rollins seemed to initiate. It resulted in Rollins biting Ainge’s finger in a tangled melee that ensued.
Isiah Thomas
While Laimbeer was the chief instigator on the “Bad Boy” Pistons, Thomas was the team’s leader. His scoring, hustle and ability to inspire a higher level from his teammates made him one of the dominant players of his era. Former Pistons president Tom Wilson referred to the Palace – the arena where the Pistons played starting in 1988 – as “The house that Isiah built.”
His journey to becoming a two-time NBA champion was symbolic of the Pistons’ as a team. It was Thomas who forced in an ill-fated inbounds pass that Larry Bird stole, leading directly to Detroit’s demise in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals. But it was also Thomas who returned a year later, leading his team in points, assists and steals as the Pistons finally beat the Celtics.
Pat Riley
Despite his place as one of the most successful coaches and executives of the last 30 years, Riley never fully got over his hatred of the Celtics. Even in 2013, Riley couldn’t resist the urge to snap at Danny Ainge. When Ainge complained about LeBron James complaining about NBA officiating, Riley retorted that the Celtics president “needs to shut the f**k up and manage his own team. He was the biggest whiner going when he was playing and I know that because I coached against him.”
The animosity against Ainge and Boston stemmed from Riley’s days as coach of the Lakers during the two teams’ peak rivalry days in the ’80s. He took the insults made against Los Angeles personally, and used it to motivate his players.
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