Boston Celtic John Havlicek retired after the 1977-78 season. The next year Larry Bird of Indiana State lead his team to the NCAA finals in March,1979, only to lose the title to Magic Johnson and the Michigan State Spartans.

That summer the Boston Celtics signed swingman Bird; returning were Dave Cowens and Cedric Maxwell, strong inside players. Nate “Tiny” Archibald and Chris Ford were the starting guards.

But the 1979-80 team was a little weak on experience, and lost to the Philadelphia 76ers — lead by Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Doug Collins, Darryl Dawkins, Caldwell Jones and Henry Bibby from UCLA’s national championship team — in the Eastern Conference finals.

In summer 1980 the Celtics traded their no. 1 draft pick to the Golden State Warriors for center Robert Parish, then picked Kevin McHale with the no.3 draft pick. Dave Cowens retired, leaving Parish, Maxwell, McHale and Bird as rebounding incorporated: they hit the boards hard. Archibald and Ford were the starting guards for coach Bill Fitch. Sixth man McHale, M.L. Carr, Gerald Henderson and Rick Robey from Kentucky’s national championship team played well off the bench.

The Sixers added Andrew Toney and Steve Mix and tied the Celtics for the East with a 62-20 record. In the East finals, the Sixers went up 3-1, but the Celtics won by two points in game five and again in game six, and there they were at game seven.

Down 89 -90 with time running out, Bird drew nothing but net for the 91 – 90 win. The Celtics beat the Houston Rockets of Moses Malone in six games for the title.

Malone jumped from Petersburg, VA high school to the Utah Jazz in 1974 and came to the Rockets in 1976. His 1980-81 teammates included Calvin Murphy, Rudy Tomjanovich, Mike Dunleavy, Robert Reid, Allen Leavell and Billy Paultz. Malone made more than a million dollars that year. The highest paid Celtics were Bird, $650,000, and Robert Parish, $600,000.

K.C. Jones became head coach of the Celtics in summer, 1983. Auerbach got guard Dennis Johnson, a great defensive player, from Phoenix and Gerald Henderson became the other starting guard.

Bird, Maxwell, and Parish started up front and McHale, the new instant offense, won the league Sixth Man award. Danny Ainge and Quinn Buckner also played well.

They met Magic and the Lakers in the finals and lost game one, won game two in overtime due to Henderson’s great defense, got thumped in game three, won game four in overtime, split the next two, and there they were in championship game seven, which the Celtics had never lost.

And they won again, 111-102, and, boy, did the Lakers get the heat for losing that title. The Lakers got their revenge the next year, 1984-85, beating the Celtics 4-2, to become champions.

The Lakers had Kareem Abdul Jabbar at center, James Worthy, Kurt Rambis, Jamaal Wilkes and Mitch Kupchak at forward, Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, and Michael Cooper at guard. Former UK star Pat Riley was their coach.

The 1985-86 Celtics added center Bill Walton to backup Robert Parish; Bird and McHale started at forward, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge at guard; top subs were Walton, Jerry Sichting and Scott Wedman.

They beat Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson’s Houston Rockets for the NBA championship, the Celtics 16th title.

Dan Rapp is pastor of Ohio Baptist Church and a south Ironton resident.