“The Worst Celtic Ever” Award: My nominations and winner

I grew up during the worst era in Boston Celtics franchise history. Born one year after the ’86 Celtics rampaged through the NBA using a clinic in team ball, my birth came months after the ’87 Celtics valiantly limped their way into the NBA Finals but could not defeat the Lakers. Kevin McHale nursed a broken foot, Larry Bird battled through nagging back injuries, Bill Walton regressed to his normal, injury-embattled self, and my father did not know it, but he was watching the last Finals the Celtics would make for more than 20 years. I was born a Celtics fan in 1987, into a hopeless rut of bad teams and decent playoff teams that were destined for failure.One year prior to my birth, draft pick Len Bias had famously died of a cocaine overdose just two days after becoming a Celtic. Six years after my birth, the Celtics turned to Reggie Lewis to lead them into the post-Bird era, but Lewis collapsed onto the Brandeis University Court and would not survive. By then even Red Au...