The Story Behind the Celtics' Most Iconic Championship Rings

With the 2024-2025 season finally off to the races, there’s no better time to reminisce on the history of the NBA’s winningest franchise, the Boston Celtics. With 18 titles — 1 more than longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers — the team looks built to chase a repeat title. 

Led by human quote machine Joe Mazzulla and superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the team received their latest rings on Tuesday, October 22 in front of a packed crowd at the TD Garden. The rings feature a number of subtle — as subtle as 18 emerald cut diamonds can be — touches that reflect on and highlight the team’s 80-21 season.

While this title didn’t break the longest drought in Celtics’ history, 16 years is still a long time to wait for a new banner for Boston fans. The only drought longer than this one was the 22-year gap between 1986 and 2008. Both of those years are arguably more iconic than this most recent one, in no small part because of how consistently dominant the ‘24 Celtics were. 

While overwhelming force throughout a season certainly makes for a statement win, how does it compare to some of the other classics throughout the team’s history?

1966 Championship

Choosing the most iconic ring from Bill Russell’s 11 title years is a buyer’s market. You could play pin the tail on the title and have an easy case to make for whichever one you landed on, but there’s something a little extra special about the 8th title in a row. It was the only time in NBA history this has ever happened and (almost definitely) the only time it will ever happen. 

The series was filled with classic moments, with coach Red Auerbach naming Russell as the head coach for the following season mid-series to the full 7-game series against the Lakers, Boston sent its winningest head coach off to retirement with an electric 4-3 series victory for the title.

The 1966 championship ring was a hallmark of the times. The gold metal tone showed off the center clear stone nicely. Two three-leaf clovers were engraved on either side with “19” and “66” on either side of the top leaf. The word “World” sits above the stone, and “Champion” sits underneath. 

1981 Championship

The 1981 championship is iconic for a few reasons, not the least of which is that it was the first title of an earlier iteration of Boston’s Big Three of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale. The Celtics fought their way to the finals past a dominant Philadelphia 76ers squad in the Eastern Conference Championships to face off against the Houston Rockets. 

The Rockers were only the third (and final, for now) team in NBA history to make the finals with a losing record in the regular season (40-42). Despite the regular season struggles, the Rockets made it a series but eventually lost 4-2, giving Bird his first championship of the decade.

The 1981 ring was gold as well and starting to set the stage for the uber-flashy rings we know and love today. “NBA” was engraved at the top and “World Champions” underneath. Between the words is a clear, circular stone inside a green base. The NBA logo in green is on the ring's side (in between “19” and “81”).

1984 Championship

It’s hard to name a more iconic rivalry in the NBA, let alone in sports as a whole, than Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. It took the two nearly half a decade to meet up in the finals, but when the pair finally did, it didn’t disappoint. Throughout the 7-game series, the two teams traded wins back and forth, never leading by more than a single game. 

Only the Celtics managed to pull off back-to-back wins throughout the finals, winning games 4 and 5. Game 5 was especially notable, with the Boston Garden reaching temperatures of 97 °F. 

The air conditioning-less building, combined with the 100 °F heatwave that hit Boston, resulted in a historic “Heat Game” that both caused referee Hugh Evans to faint in the first half and caused Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to need an oxygen tank to deal with the oppressive temperatures. While the decisive Game 7 was marginally cooler at a balmy 91 °F in the Garden, the Celtics ended up with the title, and Bird ended up with his first Finals MVP.

The 1984 ring feels like a throwback to the 1966 version: It’s gold and has a similar shape. The design features a green four-leaf clover with a clear stone in the middle and a leprechaun on the side. 

2008 Championship

As previously mentioned, 2008 marked the end of the longest title drought in Boston’s history. Led by the Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, the Celtics finally got revenge against the Lakers for their loss in 1987. Not only that, but they put the early brakes on the latest Lakers dynasty. While LA would find continued success in the following years, they never managed to secure the coveted 3-peat with this crushing 4-2 victory from Boston.

The 2008 Celtics ring has a stunning three-leaf clover made of emerald-colored stones set in the middle of the silver ring’s diamond-studded face. “World” and “Champions” are on the top and bottom of the ring respectively, and a green and silver leprechaun are on the side. Above the leprechaun is the engraved “Banner 17” and the year. 

Rings Fit for a Champion

With a winning season in the books, the best way to celebrate is with some hardware of your own, as said by Signature Championship Rings. Creating something to commemorate your title season allows you to hold on to something for the rest of your life and gives you something to talk about and reminisce about for years to come. 

Create something that uniquely captures your year’s hard work and accomplishments that you can keep with you forever.