There wasn’t a whole lot to be upset about for the Boston Celtics during the 1985-86 season. Led by Larry Bird, the Celtics won 67 games and won their second championship in three years.
A big part of that 1986 title was Bill Walton, acquired at the beginning of the season in a trade involving Cedric Maxwell. Oft-injured throughout his career, Walton came to Boston to boost the bench and give future Hall of Famers Robert Parish and Kevin McHale breathers.
Walton played 80 games, the most ever in his NBA career. He was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. He also irritated Bird before a game against the Dallas Mavericks, and it fired up the Celtics legend that night.
Losses were rare for the Celtics during the 1985-86 season. They had one loss all season at home and never lost more than two straight during the season. That can’t-lose mentality stuck with the Celtics throughout the season, and a lot of that had to do with the addition of Walton, a former MVP and NBA champion.
Walton kept McHale and Parish fresh. He averaged 7.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in 19.3 minutes. He’s also partly responsible for Bird’s 50-point night against the Mavericks on March 10, 1986.
“We just didn’t think we were going to lose,” said Bird in a 2020 video put out by the Celtics to commemorate their 1986 championship. “We lost some games throughout the year. I can remember one in particular where I was mad at Kevin and Bill before the game. They were messing around in Dallas.
“I was very upset, and I went out and told them, ‘I don’t need you guys, I’ll win it by myself.’ I score 50, and we lose, but I made my point.”
Bird made 18 of 33 shots from the floor and went 10-for-11 from the free-throw line en route to his 50-point night. He also had 11 rebounds, but the Celtics their second straight for only the second time all season in a 116-115 loss.
Although Bird wasn’t happy with whatever Walton did before that Mavericks game in Dallas in 1986, the two had a great deal of respect for each other.
Walton, who died on Monday, May 27, 2024, insisted that Bird was the best player he’d ever play with. Bird dominated that 1986 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets’ Twin Towers of Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson
You had Hakeem, you had Ralph, who were just getting started in their careers,” Walton said during a 2020 interview with Brian Scalabrine of NBC Sports Boston. “You had Kevin McHale, you had the ‘Chief,’ and here was Larry. Larry got every rebound. Larry made very steal. He made every pass. He just literally did everything and made the rest of the world seem inconsequential.
“Larry Bird, the greatest player I ever played with, by far.”
Bird was quick to issue a statement after Walton’s death.
“I am very sorry about my good friend, Bill Walton. I love him as a friend and teammate,” Bird wrote, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “It was a thrill for me to play with my childhood idol and together we earned an NBA Championship in 1986. He is one of the greatest ever to play the game.
“I am sure that all of my teammates are as grateful as I am that we were able to know Bill, he was such a joy to know and he will be sorely missed. My family and I extend our sincere condolences to the Walton family.”
