The '86 Celtics Interviews

Cedric Maxwell, current radio analyst for the Celtics, was named MVP of the 1981 NBA Finals and won a second title with the Celtics in 1984. He scored 24 points against the Lakers in Game 7 of the ’84 Finals, after famously telling his teammates to “climb on my back, boys.”

Max missed time the following season due to injury, and the Celtics lost in an NBA Finals rematch with the hated Lakers. He was then traded with a draft pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for Bill Walton.

In Maxwell’s conversation with CSN producer Jim Aberdale and director Torey Champagne, we begin with the 1984 Finals win over the Lakers, and work up to Max forging a peace treaty with Red Auerbach.

This episode features Peter May, who covered the Celtics for the Hartford Courant and Boston Globe, and published a book on the ‘86 Celtics called “The Last Banner”, released in 1996.

Jim Aberdale, producer of CSN’s documentary on “The ‘86 Celtics”, sat down with Peter, starting of on his time covering the team...

Thirty-years ago, the NBA’s marquee franchise captured another championship in a historic season, lead by one of the greatest players to ever play the game.

We’ve been bringing you the extended versions of interviews we conducted for the documentary we premiered in June celebrating the 30th anniversary of the ‘86 Celtics.

In this week’s episode, we hear from the league MVP that season, Larry Bird, conducted by Celtics.com’s Peter Stringer.

We hear from members of the 1986 Celtics bench in episode nine of "The '86 Celtics Interviews", including Greg Kite, Jerry Sichting, Rick Carlisle and Sam Vincent.

The former players tell stories of the role the bench played during that championship year, and some great stories on Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Bill Walton and Danny Ainge.

During our series discussing the 1986 Boston Celtics, we have sat down with many players from that championship, along with members of the media that were close to the team.

This week features a few of the opponents that were very familiar with the 1980’s Celtics - Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins, former Celtics coach (and Hawk) Doc Rivers, and Lakers great James Worthy.

Boston Globe columnist, and former Celtics beat writer, Dan Shaughnessy sits down with CSN for the extended interview for "The '86 Celtics Interviews".

Shaughnessy talks about the greatness of that team, and the story of the player's surprising reaction when they found out he was moving from the Celtics to the Red Sox.

In this episode, we sit-down with one of the best basketball writers in the country, Jackie MacMullan. Jackie covered the Celtics for the Boston Globe for several years, and collaborated with Larry Bird on his auto-biography.

Jim Aberdale, producer of CSN’s documentary on the ‘86 Celtics, talks with MacMullan about the bitter rivalry between the Celtics and Lakers during the 80’s, how the tragedies the Celtics faced following the ‘86 title were difficult to believe, and covering the Golden Age of the NBA.

In this episode of CSN’s “The ‘86 Celtics Interviews” podcast, we have quite a treat for you.

Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton only was a member of the Celtics for two seasons, but the passion in which he has always spoke about the franchise is unmatched.

Walton, of course, was the star of the John Wooden UCLA teams that won a remarkable 88 games in a row, and two National Championships. Walton’s NBA career began in Portland, where he lead the Cinderella Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA title.

The injuries to Bill Walton then started to pile up. He played in only 57% of regular season games during his 10 year career.

Walton’s career was rejuvenated upon being traded to Boston in the summer of 1985.

Current President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics, Danny Ainge, played a key role as part of the starting five for the ‘86 Celtics. Ainge complimented his Hall of Fame teammates on that team by being a great outside shooter, plus his tenacious attitude on the floor fit well within what was a unique set of personalities.

Since the late 1960’s, there isn’t another member of the Boston media that has followed the Celtics more closely than Bob Ryan.

Hello again everyone, I’m Abby Chin and welcome to another episode of “The ‘86 Celtics Interviews”. We have been bringing you extended versions of material collected for CSN’s documentary on the world champion 1986 Celtics.

In this episode, we hear from legendary Boston Globe beat writer, columnist and basketball guru, Bob Ryan.

To start off this podcast, Ryan talks about the state of the Celtics heading into the season, following a loss to the rival Los Angeles Lakers in the 1985 NBA Finals.

Ryan also talks about the trash-talking greatness of Larry Bird, and whether he feels the '86 Celtics are the best basketball team in NBA history.