The 1985-86 Boston Celtics were the greatest incarnation of an already great NBA franchise.
Led by Larry Bird, they won it all and then just kept going.
Though several key figures and now departed, including Hall of Famers Dennis Johnson and
Red Auerbach, many members of that championship squad continue to pursue greatness.
Here's where the 1985-86 Celtics are now.
Larry Bird hurled verbal daggers that were almost as sharp as his shooting.
He once buried a three during a Christmas Day game against the Indiana Pacers, turned
to their bench, and quipped, "Merry f---ing Christmas."
"It always seems like I get the last word.”
One of the greatest marksmen to ever play the game, Bird more than lived up to his "Larry
Legend" nickname with the 85-86 Celtics.
He earned his third straight league MVP award, was named finals MVP, and led the league in
three-pointers.
The Legend bid farewell to basketball after winning gold with the 1992 Olympic Dream Team.
In 1997 he became the Pacers' head coach and received the Coach of the Year Award.
After three straight appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals, he walked away from coaching
because of heart problems.
In 2003 Bird rose like a phoenix, serving as the Pacers' team president and later winning
an Executive of the Year Award.
He stepped down in 2017.
Power forward Kevin McHale played mind games almost as well as he played basketball.
Larry Bird alleged that McHale once humiliated a former college teammate who played for Golden
State by exploiting their friendship.
Supposedly, McHale promised to let his old chum score but then knocked the shot "six
rows into the stands."
A superb scorer, McHale averaged nearly 25 points per game during the 1986 playoffs.
He also made the NBA All-Defensive First Team three times and was a seven-time All-Star.
Injuries forced McHale to call it a career in 1993 after 13 seasons.
He then joined the Minnesota Timberwolves from 1993 to 2009 in various capacities, including
general manager.
In 2011 he landed a head coaching job with the Houston Rockets.
Despite being "the ultimate player's coach" and guiding Houston to the 2015 Western Conference
Finals, he was fired after a disappointing 4-7 start to the 2015-16 season.
Affectionately referred to as "Chief," starting center Robert Parish rounded out the Celtics'
"Big Three" alongside Bird and McHale.
The 7-foot-1 Parish was known for his trademark high-trajectory jump shot that seemed to kiss
the banners at Boston Garden.
He spent 14 seasons as a Celtic but concluded his career as a Chicago Bull in 1997.
He retired as a top-15 all-time scorer and a top-10 all-time shot-blocker and rebounder.
After hanging up his jersey, Parish aspired to coach an NBA team, but that didn't quite
work out.
During his playing days, rumors circulated that he abused his wife at the time, including
allegations that he kicked her down the stairs while she was pregnant.
Parish later admitted to shoving his former spouse across a hallway.
Understandably, NBA teams didn't consider Parish coaching material.
He went on to remain active with the Celtics organization as a consultant and mentor.
Danny Ainge was the NBA equivalent of a mosquito, not because he sucked, but because he made
his opponents want to crush him.
In 1983 Wayne "Tree" Rollins of the Atlanta Hawks actually bit Ainge's middle finger,
inspiring the famous headline "Tree Bites Man."
He also even very nearly came to blows with Michael Jordan.
Ainge wasn't just an annoyance, though.
As Boston's starting shooting guard, he provided harassing defense and danger from beyond the
arc.
He retired as one of only three players in NBA history to sink 1,000 or more three-pointers
in their careers.
Ainge went on to become a TNT analyst and then served as head coach of the Phoenix Suns.
He returned to Boston in 2003, assuming the role of Celtics president.
Under his leadership the franchise acquired its 17th NBA championship.
Bill Walton's career had more ups and downs than an anti-gravity roller coaster.
In 1977, Walton led the Portland Trail Blazers to an NBA title and a year later he took home
the league’s MVP award..
The years that followed, however, were dominated by injuries.
Yet despite seeming to have more broken bones than points to his name, the Celtics acquired
him in 1985.
He rewarded Boston's faith by playing in 80 games and winning the Sixth Man award.
Walton played just 10 games in the 1986-87 season before he decided to bow out from basketball.
In 1990 he started a decades-long broadcasting career during which he worked for such networks
as CBS, NBC, and ESPN.
He's also a huge Grateful Dead fan, and he even starred in a reality show called Bill
Walton's Long Strange Trip.
During his commentating days, he became infamous for making strange and trippy comments, known
as "Waltonisms."
"Are you serious?
Live green or die come on.
We are the conference of champions."
"He’s Bill Walton."
"One of a kind."
Rick Carlisle spent most of his tenure with the Celtics riding the bench.
But during that time, he learned a lot from Boston executive Red Auerbach, who previously
coached the Celtics in the '50s and '60s.
Evidently, Red's tips worked because Carlisle was named Coach of the Year with the Pistons
in 2002, and he led Dallas to an NBA title in 2011.
His post-Celtics life hasn't been just about coaching.
He's also a self-taught pianist, and when he isn't dispensing wisdom to the Mavericks,
he's piloting airplanes for kicks.
Plus, he can also impersonate other NBA coaches.
"Does that make it tough to make that decision to go ahead and do that?"
"'Yes.'
That’s my Popovich impersonation.
Thank you."