The Boston Celtics All-Time Scoring Pyramid

Throughout NBA history, very few organizations have had the level of talent come through their doors that the Boston Celtics have had. When talking about scorers specifically, the list of players that makes up the Celtics’ all-time list is as elite as they come. Just as we did with the Los Angeles Lakers in recent weeks, below is the Celtics’ all-time scoring list broken down into tiers.

These stages or tiers are separated by increments of 5,000 points, working their way through the history of the Boston Celtics and their all-time leading scorers. It’s time to find out which players make up the Boston Celtics’ all-time scoring pyramid.

Tier 5 – 5K Club (5,000+ Points)

Don Nelson, Jaylen Brown, Tom Sanders, Frank Ramsey, Cedric Maxwell, Reggie Lewis, Ed Macauley, Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge, Kevin Garnett, Marcus Smart, Ray Allen, Bailey Howell, Rajon Rondo, Don Chaney, Dee Brown, Larry Siegfried, K.C. Jones, Avery Bradley

In total, 33 players make up the Boston Celtics all-time scoring pyramid. Of those 33 players, 19 of them make up Tier 5 or the 5K Club. The player with the most points among these 19 players is Don Nelson with 9,968 points in his Celtics career from 1966 through 1976. Nelson averaged 11.4 points per game and recorded four different 1,000-point seasons during this stretch.

Jaylen Brown has been with the Celtics for seven-plus seasons from 2017 through the current day. Over the years, Brown has developed into an All-Star who has recorded five different 1,000-point seasons in his career. Brown has averaged 18.2 points per game during this time on 47.7% shooting and continues to add to his 9,043 points in total.

Falling just below the 9,000-point threshold on Tier 5 is Tom “Satch” Sanders. Spending his entire 13-year career in Boston, Sanders was a member of eight NBA championship teams during his career from 1961 through 1973. During this time, Sanders recorded 8,766 points with four seasons of just over 900 points. Sanders averaged 9.6 points per game on 42.8% shooting for his career.

Frank Ramsey is another lifelong Celtics legend who played from 1955 through 1964. Ramsey scored 8,374 points in his Celtics career with five different seasons of 1,000 points or more. Ramsey was a member of seven championship teams with Boston, averaging 13.4 points per game for his career on 39.9% shooting from the field.

Cedric Maxwell played eight seasons for the Celtics from 1978 through 1985. During this time, he would win two NBA championships and a Finals MVP award in 1981. In his eight seasons with the team, Maxwell scored 8,311 total points with four seasons of 1,000 points as well. Maxwell averaged 13.7 points per game in 607 games played with Boston.

Before tragedy struck and claimed Reggie Lewis’ life at just 30 years old, he was a six-year veteran of the NBA with Boston and an All-Star. During these six seasons, Lewis recorded 7,902 points while averaging 17.6 points per game. At the time of his passing, he was coming off the fifth consecutive 1,000-point season of his career and the second straight with over 1,500 points.

Ed Macauley was a member of the Celtics from 1951 through 1956. During this time, Macauley was a six-time All-Star averaging 18.9 points per game. During this time, Macauley scored over 1,000 points in all six seasons with Boston for a total of 7.882 points which ranks 21st in Celtics history.

Former Celtics point guard Dennis Johnson falls just below the 7,000-point threshold with 6,805 total points in his seven seasons with Boston from 1984 through 1990. Johnson averaged 12.6 points per game during this time in his career with four different 1,000-point seasons as well. Johnson would win two NBA titles with the Celtics in 1984 and 1986.

Danny Ainge was a scrappy point guard with the Celtics from 1982 through 1989, In these eight seasons, Ainge scored a total of 6,257 points to sneak onto Tier 5 in Celtics history. Ainge averaged 11.3 points per game in his Celtics career with three different 1,000-point seasons. Ainge would also be a member of two championship teams in 1984 and 1986.

Kevin Garnett is a beloved member of the 2008 Celtics championship team that delivered Boston’s first title since 1986. Garnett played a total of six seasons with Boston from 2008 through 2013, recording 6,233 points overall. Garnett averaged 15.7 points per game during this time and recorded three different 1,000-point seasons.

From 2015 through 2023, Marcus Smart embodied what it meant to be a member of the Boston Celtics every night on the court. During his nine-year career with the team, Smart had 6,141 points in total. He did not make any All-Star teams but he was named the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year. He had just two seasons with over 800 points in his Cltics career but remains firmly on Tier 5 in their history.

Ray Allen is another beloved member of the 2008 NBA championship team. Allen joined the team in 2008 and remained with them through 2012, scoring a total of 5,987 points along the way. During this time, Allen became the NBA’s all-time leader in three-point field goals made and averaged 16.7 points per game.

Bailey Howell played just four seasons with the Celtics from 1967 through 1970. He still scored enough to work his way onto Tier 5 with 5,812 points. Howell would score over 1,000 points in all four seasons he spent with the Celtics and over 1,500 points in three of the four as well.

While Rajon Rondo was known for his playmaking and passing, he also scored 5,783 points in nine seasons with the Celtics from 2007 through 2015. Rondo recorded just one season with over 1,000 points and one other season with at least 900 points but remains one of the highest-scoring guards in team history to this day.

Of the 12 seasons he spent in the NBA, Don Chaney spent 10 of them with the Boston Celtics from 1969 through 1980. While Chaney averaged just 8.7 points per game, he totaled 5,689 points in his Celtics career to make his way onto Tier 5. Chaney had one 1,000-point season in Boston and two other 900-point seasons to earn his way onto the list.

Dee Brown spent eight of his 12 seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics as well from 1991 through 1998. Brown averaged 11.6 points per game during this time in his career and recorded 5,512 points in total during his time in Boston. Brown had back-to-back 1,000-point seasons in 1994 and 1995 and ranks 30th in Celtics history in scoring.

Larry Siegfried is one of the final members of Tier 5 in Celtics history. Siegfried scored 5,420 points with the Celtics in seven seasons from 1964 through 1970. During this time, Siegfried also won five NBA titles with Boston with two different 1,000-point seasons under his belt. Siegfried would also add two other seasons of at least 900 points in his Celtics career.

K.C. Jones, known mostly for his defensive efforts, also squeaked his way onto Tier 5 of this all-time Celtics scoring pyramid. Jones played all nine seasons of his career with Boston from 1959 through 1967, averaging just 7.4 points per game. His 5,011 total points rank 32nd in team history and came by way of six different 500-point seasons.

The final member of the 5K club in Boston Celtics history is Avery Bradley. In the span of seven seasons spent with the Celtics from 2011 through 2017, Bradley scored 5,008 points to take the final spot. Bradley averaged 12.1 points per game during his time with Boston and recorded back-to-back 1,000-point seasons in 2015 and 2016.

Tier 4 – 10K Club (10,000+ Points)

Bill Russell, Dave Cowens, Jo Jo White, Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn, Antoine Walker, Jayson Tatum

The next eight players on Tier 4 make up the 10K club or scored between 10,000 and 14,999 points in their Celtics careers. The leader of this tier is Bill Russell who scored 14,522 points in his Celtics career from 1957 through 1969. Known more for his defensive and rebounding dominance, Russell still recorded 10 straight 1,000-point seasons from 1958 through 1957 and became the winningest player in NBA history with 11 NBA championships.

Dave Cowens is a former MVP and two-time NBA champion with the Celtics. Cowens played his entire career with the team from 1971 through 1980, scoring 13,516 points in his career. To achieve these career numbers, Cowens recorded eight different 1,000-point seasons and two 1,500-point seasons or better.

Jo Jo White is a former two-time NBA champion and Finals MVP who played 10 seasons with the Celtics from 1970 through 1079. In those 10 seasons, White scored 13,168 total points, averaging 18.4 points per game. White recorded seven seasons with over 1,000 points scored and six with over 1,500 points scored.

Bill Sharman is also a member of the 10K club in Celtics history with 12,287 points scored in 10 seasons from 1952 through 1961. Sharman helped the Celtics win four NBA championships with eight seasons of at least 1,000 points scored while armed with one of the deadliest mid-range jumpers ever.

Tom Heinsohn is another member of the famous early days of the Boston Celtics. In his nine-year career with the team from 1957 through 1965, Heinsohn recorded 12,194 points while averaging 18.6 points per game. Heinsohn would register 1,000 points or more in his first eight seasons in the league with Boston, winning eight NBA titles in the process.

Antoine Walker never met a shot he didn’t like to take in his eight seasons with the Celtics from 1997 through 2003. Walker averaged 20.6 points per game during this time but shot just 41.3% from the field and 33.3% from three. Walker would score 11,386 points in his time with the Celtics, recording six 1,00-point seasons and five 1,500-point seasons in the process.

The final member of Tier 4 is someone who is going to be much higher on this list by the time his career is over. In six-plus seasons with the Celtics, Jayson Tatum has already scored 10,648 points in his career. He became the first Celtics player to score 30.0 points per game in a season in 2022-23 and has recorded at least 1,500 points since 202 with back-to-back 2,000-point seasons in 2022 and 2023.

Tier 3 – 15K Club (15,000+ Points)

Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Bob Cousy, Sam Jones

The next four players make up Tier 3 or the 15K club in Boston Celtics history. These four players scored between 15,000 and 19,999 points in their Celtics careers. Robert Parish is the leader of this tier with 18,245 points in his 14 seasons with the Celtics from 1981 through 1994. Parish averaged 16.5 points per game during this time while winning three NBA championships in the process.

Parish’s teammate Kevin McHale is right behind him with his 17,335 points in 13 seasons with the Celtics from 1981 through 1993. During that time, McHale recorded five 1,500-point seasons and one 2,000-point season in his career. McHale is the greatest power forward in NBA history and one of the greatest players in franchise history bar none.

Bob Cousy played 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics from 1951 through 1963, averaging 18.5 points per game and scoring 16,955 total points. Cousy helped the Celtics win six NBA championships with 13 1,000-point seasons and one 1,5000-point season in his career. Along with his 16,955 points, Cousy dished out 6,945 assists, the most in team history.

The final member of Tier 3 is 10-time NBA champion and lifelong Boston Celtic Sam Jones. In 12 seasons with Boston from 1958 through 1969, Jones scored 15,411 points to make his way onto Tier 3. Jones averaged 17.7 points per game and recorded nine 1,000-point seasons, four 1,5000-point seasons, and one 2,000-point season.

Tier 2 – 20K Club (20,000+ Points)

Paul Pierce, Larry Bird

Just two players in the history of the Boston Celtics have scored between 20,000 and 25,000 points in their uniform. Paul Pierce scored the second-most points in Celtics history with 24,021 in 15 seasons from 1999 through 2013. Pierce led the Celtics to one NBA title in 2008 and recorded four 2,000-point seasons, nine 1,500-point seasons, and 14 1,000-point seasons.

Larry Bird is the other member of Tier 2 for the 21, 21,791 points he scored in 13 seasons from 1980 through 1992. Bird was a three-time MVP, three-time NBA champion, and two-time Finals MVP for the Celtics in his career. Bird reached third in franchise history in scoring by recording four different 2,000-point seasons and 10 different 1,500-point seasons while averaging 24.3 points per game.

Tier 1 – 25K Club (25,000+ Points)

John Havlicek

At last, we have reached the top of the Boston Celtics’ scoring mountain. John Havlicek is the only player in Celtics history to surpass 25,000 points. In 16 seasons with the team from 1963 through 1978, Havlicek averaged 20.8 points per game with the team for a total of 16,395 points. Havlicek won eight NBA titles with Boston in those 16 seasons with two 2,000-point seasons, 10 1,500-point seasons, and at least 1,000 points in all 16 seasons of his career.