1997–98 Boston Celtics season

1997–98 Boston Celtics season
Head coach	Rick Pitino
Arena	Fleet Center
Results
Record	36–46 (.439)
Place	Division: 6th (Atlantic) Conference: 12th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	SportsChannel New England, WSBK
Radio	WEEI

The 1997–98 Boston Celtics season was the 52nd season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] In the 1997 NBA Draft, the Celtics selected Chauncey Billups out of the University of Colorado with the third pick. Billups only spent half of his rookie season in Boston, and was traded to the Toronto Raptors at midseason. They also had the sixth pick in the draft and selected Ron Mercer from the University of Kentucky.

Despite finishing with the NBA's second worst record in 1996-97, the Celtics were back in the headlines after hiring Rick Pitino as head coach. Pitino's Celtics career had an auspicious beginning on opening night when the Celtics upset the 5-time defending NBA Champion Chicago Bulls in the FleetCenter. Although the Celtics did not make the playoffs, they improved their win total by 21 games from the previous season, finishing sixth in the Atlantic Division with a 36-46 record. Scoring leader Antoine Walker was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Team
1	3	Chauncey Billups	PG	United States	Colorado
1	6	Ron Mercer	SF/SG	United States	Kentucky
2	56	Ben Pepper	C	Australia	Newcastle Falcons

Roster

Boston Celtics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PG 7 Anderson, Kenny 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Georgia Tech PG 11 Barros, Dana 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 163 lb (74 kg) Boston College SF 12 Bowen, Bruce 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Cal State Fullerton C 45 DeClercq, Andrew 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Florida PG 20 Edney, Tyus 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 152 lb (69 kg) UCLA PF 29 Ellison, Pervis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Louisville SF 34 Hanson, Reggie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Kentucky SF 13 Jones, Dontae' 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Mississippi State PF 4 Jones, Popeye  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Murray State C 40 Knight, Travis 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Connecticut SF 0 McCarty, Walter 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Kentucky SG 5 Mercer, Ron 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Kentucky SF 9 Minor, Greg 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Louisville C 55 Tabak, Žan 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Croatia PF 8 Walker, Antoine 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 224 lb (102 kg) Kentucky	Head coach Rick Pitino (Massachusetts) Assistant coach(es) Winston Bennett (Kentucky) John Carroll (Dickinson) Jim O'Brien (Saint Joseph's) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Miami Heat	55	27	.671	–	30-11	25–16	18–6
x-New York Knicks	43	39	.524	12	28–13	15–26	13–11
x-New Jersey Nets	43	39	.524	12	26–15	17–24	12–12
Washington Wizards	42	40	.512	13	24–17	18–23	12–13
Orlando Magic	41	41	.500	14	24–17	17–24	11–13
Boston Celtics	36	46	.439	19	24–17	12–29	12–23
Philadelphia 76ers	31	51	.378	24	19–22	12–29	7–17

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

Awards and records

• Ron Mercer, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team

References

1. 1997-98 Boston Celtics

See also

• 1997–98 NBA season