The Boston Garden: March 2009

NBA Dynasty Series - Boston Celtics - The Complete History

Over the past 50 years the Celtics have won an unprecedented 16 World Championships including 8 in a row from 1959-1966, making them the the most storied franchise in NBA history. This 5-disc special edition collector's set features the complete Boston Celtics history including year-end compilation programs highlighting the Championship seasons. Plus for the first time ever on DVD, the team's most memorable games in franchise history.

Boston Celtics: The Complete History recounts the glory days of the Celtics, and few have ever been more glorious. The franchise's Hall of Fame players and still-record 16 championships are revisited in a five double-sided-DVD combination of new and old documentaries and actual game footage.

The main documentary, The Celtics Dynasty (47 min.) tracks the team from the '50s through the '80s, and shorter vintage featurettes from the '70s and '80s (about 130 min. total) focus on the 1974 playoffs, the classic 1976 game against the Phoenix Suns that's often called the greatest NBA game ever, the renewed rivalry with the Lakers, and the 1986-87 team. Two NBA highlight films (55 min. each) summarizing the 1984 and 1986 seasons are less Celtic-centric but provide some memorable moments such as Ralph Sampson's miracle shot to beat the Lakers.

A postscript needs less than three minutes to discuss the highlights of the franchise since its last championship (1986) through 2004, from Reggie Lewis to Paul Pierce. (Interestingly, neither it nor the 1986-87 summary mentions the tragic death of Len Bias, who was the best hope to carry on the winning tradition from the Big Three.)

But that's all a prelude to the six complete games (plus one quarter) included in the set. It's a rare chance to see all-time great players such as Bill Russell, the Bird-Parish-McHale front line, and even a pre-TV-personality Bill Walton grabbing a key offensive rebound to remind everyone of the player he was before the injuries. It includes the aforementioned Phoenix Suns game, two games against the Magic-Kareem Lakers in 1984, a game against Houston's Twin Towers by the 1986 team that some call the best ever, and a 1987 game against Detroit that didn't lead to a championship but allowed Bird to create his own John Havlicek-esque moment. Light up the victory cigar for the Boston Celtics on DVD! --David Horiuchi

To purchase this must have collection click on the link under the picture, not the picture.

Enjoy,