1994–95 Boston Celtics season

The 1994–95 Boston Celtics season was the 49th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] This was the Celtics' first season since the 1979–80 season without long-time center Robert Parish, who left as a free agent to the Charlotte Hornets. It was also the team's final season in which they played their home games at the Boston Garden, as well as playing occasional home games at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut.^[2][3][4]

After missing the NBA playoffs the previous season, the Celtics received the ninth overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, and selected center Eric Montross from the University of North Carolina.^[5][6][7] During the off-season, the Celtics signed free agent All-Star forward Dominique Wilkins, which was a controversial move,^[8][9][10] signed free agents Pervis Ellison,^[11][12] second-year guard David Wesley and rookie shooting guard Greg Minor,^[13][14] and acquired Blue Edwards and Derek Strong from the Milwaukee Bucks.^[15][16]

With the addition of Wilkins and Montross, the Celtics got off to a 7–6 start in November, but played below .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the regular season. The team posted a six-game losing streak in January, and later on held a 19–27 record at the All-Star break.^[17] At mid-season, the team traded Edwards back to his former team, the Utah Jazz in exchange for Jay Humphries.^[18][19][20] The Celtics posted another six-game losing streak in March, but won eight of their final twelve games of the season, finishing in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 35–47 record.^[21] Despite finishing six games under .500, the team qualified for the NBA playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Wilkins averaged 17.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game along with 112 three-point field goals, while second-year star Dino Radja averaged 17.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, and Dee Brown provided the team with 15.6 points and 1.4 steals per game, and also led them with 126 three-point field goals. In addition, Sherman Douglas contributed 14.7 points and 6.9 assists per game, while Montross averaged 10.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Off the bench, Rick Fox contributed 8.8 points per game, but only played 53 games due to ankle and foot injuries,^[22] while Xavier McDaniel provided with 8.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Wesley contributed 7.4 points, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game in only 51 games, starting in 36 of them due to a knee injury,^[23] while Ellison averaged 6.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, Strong provided with 6.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, and Minor contributed 6.0 points per game.^[24]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, Montross was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the White team.^[25][26] Wilkins was not selected for the NBA All-Star Game for the first time since the 1984–85 season; he had ninth consecutive All-Star appearances while playing for his former team, the Atlanta Hawks.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1995 NBA playoffs, the Celtics faced off against the top–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion Orlando Magic, who were led by the All-Star trio of Shaquille O'Neal, second-year star Penny Hardaway, and Horace Grant. The Celtics suffered a 47-point margin loss in Game 1 to the Magic, 124–77 at the Orlando Arena,^[27][28][29] but managed to defeat them in Game 2 on the road, 99–92, seizing the "theoretical home court advantage" for the series.^[30][31][32] However, the Celtics lost the next two games at home, which included a Game 4 loss to the Magic at the Boston Garden, 95–92, thus losing the series in four games; Game 4 was the last basketball game ever played at the Boston Garden.^[33][34][35] The Magic would advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, but would lose to the 6th–seeded, and defending NBA champion Houston Rockets in a four-game sweep in the 1995 NBA Finals.^[36][37][38]

The Celtics finished 20th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 606,070 at the Boston Garden during the regular season.^[24][39] Following the season, Wilkins and McDaniel both left to play overseas in Greece,^[40][41][42] while Strong signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers,^[43] Humphries was released to free agency, and head coach Chris Ford was fired; General Manager M.L. Carr explained the firing as having to do with "diminishing returns".^[44][45][46]