1997–98 Boston Celtics season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. The Celtics received the third overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, and selected point guard Chauncey Billups from the University of Colorado, and also selected shooting guard Ron Mercer from the University of Kentucky with the sixth overall pick. Despite finishing with the league's second worst record the previous season, the Celtics were back in the headlines after hiring University of Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino as their new coach. During the off-season, the team signed free agent Chris Mills, but then traded him to the New York Knicks in exchange for second-year forward Walter McCarty in October, and also signed second-year center Travis Knight, Andrew DeClercq, Bruce Bowen and Tyus Edney.

Pitino's Celtics career had an auspicious beginning on opening night when the Celtics defeated Michael Jordan, and the 5-time defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls, 92–85 at the FleetCenter on October 31, 1997. After a slow 1–5 start to the regular season, the Celtics held a 16–14 record as of January 3, 1998, but then lost eight of their next nine games, and held a 22–25 record at the All-Star break.

At mid-season, the team traded Billups along with Dee Brown to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Kenny Anderson, Popeye Jones and Žan Tabak; the Raptors had acquired Anderson from the Portland Trail Blazers. The Celtics continued to struggle as they later on posted a six-game losing streak in March; although the team did not qualify for the NBA playoffs, they improved their win total by 21 games from the previous season, finishing in sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a 36–46 record.

Second-year star Antoine Walker averaged 22.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, and was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game in New York City, New York, while Mercer averaged 15.3 points and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In addition, McCarty provided the team with 9.6 points and 1.3 steals per game, and Dana Barros contributed 9.8 points and 3.6 assists per game off the bench, plus leading the Celtics with 100 three-point field goals. On the defensive side, Knight averaged 6.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, and DeClercq provided with 5.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Walker finished in twelfth place in Most Valuable Player voting, and also finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting, while Pitino finished tied in seventh place in Coach of the Year voting.

Following the season, Knight was traded back to his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers, after only one season with the Celtics, and Edney and Tabak were both released to free agency.