1993–94 Boston Celtics season

The 1993–94 Boston Celtics season was the 48th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] Tragedy struck the Celtics during the off-season when star guard, and team captain Reggie Lewis died of cardiac arrest during practice at the age of 27 on July 27, 1993; Lewis previously collapsed during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Charlotte Hornets in the 1993 NBA playoffs.^[2][3][4] Two years later, the Celtics would retire his #35 jersey during a game against the Chicago Bulls at the Boston Garden on March 22, 1995.^[5][6][7] Croatian rookie power forward Dino Radja, who was drafted by the Celtics as the 40th overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft, made his debut in the NBA this season.^[8][9][10]

Despite the loss of Lewis, and with the addition of Radja, the Celtics won six of their first eight games of the regular season,^[11] and played above .500 in winning percentage with an 11–10 start to the season. However, the team soon fell below .500 posting a seven-game losing streak in December afterwards,^[12] but later on posted a seven-game winning streak in January,^[13][14] and held a 20–27 record at the All-Star break.^[15] However, the Celtics suffered a 13-game losing streak between February and March, which included a winless month in February, where the team lost all of their twelve games during that month.^[16][17][18] The Celtics posted a six-game losing streak in March, and finished in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a disappointing 32–50 record;^[19] this season marked the first since 1978–79 that the team failed to qualify for the NBA playoffs (a streak of 14 seasons).^[20][1] The absence of Lewis, and the retirements over the previous two seasons of Larry Bird, and Kevin McHale contributed to the poor season.

Dee Brown averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game, while Radja averaged 15.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and Sherman Douglas provided the team with 13.3 points and 8.8 assists per game. In addition, long-time Celtics center Robert Parish averaged 11.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while Kevin Gamble provided with 11.5 points per game, and Rick Fox contributed 10.8 points per game. Off the bench, Xavier McDaniel averaged 11.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while first-round draft pick Acie Earl contributed 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, and Ed Pinckney provided with 5.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.^[21]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Radja was selected for the inaugural NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Phenoms team.^[22][23] The Celtics finished 19th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 604,867 at the Boston Garden during the regular season.^[21][24]

Following the season, Parish signed as a free agent with the Charlotte Hornets,^[25][26][27] while Gamble signed with the Miami Heat,^[28][29][30] and Pinckney was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.^[31][32][33]