Injuries are a part of the game of basketball and have a huge impact on the way seasons, careers, and legacies can go. The Boston Celtics franchise is built on grit and a championship tradition. In some of their biggest moments, injuries have played a dramatic role. Some of these moments were heroic and impossible comebacks to the early decline of legends. So, let’s take a look at five injury stories that bring out the highs and lows in Celtics history.

John Havlicek’s “Broken” Shoulder

Havlicek was known for having great stamina and amazing durability. However, during the 1973 Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks, his durability was put to the test. In Game 3, Havlicek suffered a severe hyperextension of his right trapezius muscle when he ran into a Dave DeBusschere pick.

This was a 68-win Celtics team, and this was a huge blow. Havlicek ended up missing Game 4 and watched with his arm in a sling as the Knicks took complete control. Somehow, Havlicek returned for Game 5 and played in the remaining games of the series, but he was barely making an impact for his team. This showed incredible toughness, and he was even forced to play left-handed at times.

Boston lost the series in seven games, and the injury stopped a potential dynasty. But Havlicek’s perseverance through a significant injury remains one of the most famous displays of toughness the franchise has ever seen.

Larry Bird’s Back

This is one of the most heartbreaking injury stories in Celtics history. After Larry Bird won two straight NBA Most Valuable Player awards in 1984 and 1985, back issues began to affect his career in the late 1980s. It stemmed from the summer of 1985, when he first injured his back shoveling fresh gravel in his mother’s driveway in French Lick. In 1989, other injuries crept in, as he underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels in his feet.

Bird later explained that those long seasons in the mid-80s of going after titles for four straight years meant his body never had time to recover. By the 1991-92 season, he was missing over half of the games and even had to lie on the locker room floor at halftime to get through a game. Bird ended up retiring in 1992 because he had experienced enough pain to last a lifetime. He’d put together one of the greatest careers the NBA had ever seen, but the back problems in his prime left the second half of his run as one of the great “what-ifs” in history.

Paul Pierce ‘Wheelchair Game’

In Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, Pierce fell to the floor in a lot of pain and was grabbing his right knee. He was being carried off in a wheelchair, and it looked like the possible end of the Celtics’ quest to end a 22-year title drought. However, Pierce returned minutes later and was able to hit a couple 3-pointers to get some momentum back for the C’s in the game.

Now, for years, there were rumors going around that the injury was actually a bathroom emergency. In 2019, Pierce admitted that he just had to use the restroom and didn’t want to risk an accident during the game. However, Pierce also claimed that he suffered an MCL sprain. Whatever fans choose to believe, this moment helped gain early momentum in that championship series, as they won the first two games and closed the Lakers out in six, with Pierce winning Finals MVP.

Kevin Garnett’s Knee Injury

The Celtics put together the “Big Three” for a new era with Kevin Garnett leading the way as their new identity, and dominated to win the 2008 title. They were primed to repeat in 2009, as the C’s sat at 44-11 and looked like an unstoppable freight train. However, on Feb. 19, 2009, in a game against the Utah Jazz, Garnett landed awkwardly on his right knee after a layup attempt.

At first, the diagnosis was a right knee strain, but it actually was a lot more serious. Garnett ended up missing the final 25 games of the regular season and the entire 2009 playoffs. Without his elite defense, Boston struggled and needed seven games to get by the Chicago Bulls. They eventually lost to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals, bringing a highly promising season to a disappointing end.

Pierce later said that if the team were completely healthy that year, then they would’ve won 70 games and repeated as champions. It’s hard to dispute that assertion, considering how well it was going before KG’s injury.

Jayson Tatum’s Achilles Injury

In the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, Boston was trying to finish off a 3-0 series comeback against the Miami Heat. In the opening minute of Game 7, Tatum suffered a left ankle sprain. He attempted to play through it, but his explosiveness was entirely gone, which allowed the Heat to take over and win the game.

Injuries can be the ultimate disruptor in title runs and can turn contenders into pretenders by dismantling team chemistry and reducing tactical efficiency. This was again the case two years later for a Celtics team that was defending the NBA championship, when Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon during the 2025 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks on May 12, 2025. The Knicks ultimately finished the C’s off in six games.

While the series wasn’t going well for the Celtics even with Tatum healthy, the devastating Achilles injury robbed Tatum of nearly an entire season, before he ultimately returned late in the 2025-26 campaign.