The Celtics Win 11 Titles in 13 Years
Bill Russell's Boston Celtics dominated professional basketball's first great dynasty run.
Between 1957 and 1969, the Boston Celtics won eleven NBA championships in thirteen seasons -- a run of sustained dominance no team in a major American professional sport has matched since.
The roster changed constantly around one constant: Bill Russell's defense, rebounding, and leadership, alongside coach Red Auerbach's insistence on team-first basketball over individual scoring totals.
The dynasty's final act, an unexpected 1969 title win as an aging underdog against a Wilt Chamberlain-led Lakers team, is often cited as the most complete example of Russell's teams outperforming their own regular-season expectations when it mattered most.
Connected moments
Where this story leads next, in the same era or a related thread.
Wilt Chamberlain Scores 100
In a game with no television broadcast, Wilt Chamberlain set a scoring record that has stood for over sixty years.