Boston Celtics Top Small Forwards of All Time

(last updated on October 13, 2025)

As a life-long and intensely loyal Sixers fan, it is painful to compose a list of great Boston Celtics. With that said, even the most ardent Celtics haters have to acknowledge their success and recognize them as one of the elite franchises in American sports. They are a brand just like the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys. When you think of the NBA, you think of the Boston Celtics. It took some legendary players to acquire those 18 NBA titles, but this exercise will just focus on a certain position: small forward. In today’s modern NBA, it is harder to define because it seems like positionless basketball at times. Centers continually shoot threes, and everybody brings the ball up the court nowadays. Would you really define LeBron James or Luka Doncic as a pure small forward? Traditionally, a small forward wasn’t your biggest man on the floor, and they didn’t handle the ball much. They did some scoring, rebounding, and a little bit of the dirty work. Now a great small forward seems to do everything on the court. If some big names are absent from this list, it’s probably because they would qualify as a power forward more than a small forward; apologies to Tommy Heinsohn, Antoine Walker, and Kevin Garnett. Without further ado, here’s a list of the top small forwards in Boston Celtics history.

This might not be a household name to non-New Englanders or to anyone from generations Y or Z, but Satch was a vital part of the first Celtics dynasty with Bill Russell and company. In his 13-year career all in Boston, he won eight NBA championships, including his first six seasons. For a nine-season stretch, he never averaged below 10.2 ppg and 5.4 rpg; those were solid numbers for a traditional small forward in that era. During two of those title runs in the mid-60s, he averaged over 13 ppg in the playoffs; his best performance may have been in the 1966 Finals when he averaged 14.4 ppg as the Celtics beat the Lakers in seven games. Known for his defense, he was regularly assigned to the opposition’s leading scorer. Also a very reliable presence, Sanders led the league in games played four times. This man did get his flowers because he is an NBA Hall of Famer with his retired jersey hanging in the rafters at the Garden. With a resume like that, Tom Sanders is certainly one of the best small forwards in Celtics history.

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There is no question this man is on the Mount Rushmore of the Boston Celtics. Hondo was drafted 9th overall out of Ohio State in 1962, where he played in three Final Fours and won a national championship. His accolades are second to none: NBA Hall of Famer, eight-time NBA champion, member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, 13-time All-Star, Finals MVP, etc. You get the point. In his 16-year career, he never averaged below 14.3 ppg with his high being 28.9 ppg in the ’70-’71 season. He actually bridged multiple eras of Celtics basketball; he started in the early 60s with Cousy and Russell and finished in the late 70s right before Larry Bird arrived. He won his first title at age 22 and his last at age 35. The most famous Hondo memory for many is his “Havlicek stole the ball” clinching play in Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Division Finals against their nemesis the Philadelphia 76ers. To this day, Havlicek is still the all-time leading scorer in franchise history with 26,395 points (22nd all time presently). You could write a book about all of his achievements, so there is no doubt that John Havlicek is one of the Boston Celtics best small forwards ever.

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Many younger fans know Don Nelson as a Hall of Fame coach, but he was a heck of a player back in his day. Although his bio might not be as gaudy as some of these other Boston stars, he was a member of five NBA champions during his time in Beantown. Career averages of 10.4 ppg and 4.9 rpg won’t win you an MVP award, but it did make Nellie a consistent contributor to a dynasty. Durability and grit were trademarks of Nelson’s style as he played in all 82 games in six different seasons. He wasn’t a volume shooter, but he was an efficient one, leading the league in field goal % (.539) in ’74-’75. The signature moment of his career came in Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals against their rival Los Angeles Lakers. With about a minute to play, the Celtics narrowly held a one-point lead and had possession as the shot clock waned; a loose ball was batted to Nelson near the foul line. Nelson hit a memorable jumper that bounced about 15 feet high off of the back rim and then fell peacefully into the hoop, helping the Celtics secure another NBA title. Another retired jersey in the Garden puts Don Nelson on the list of the top small forwards in Boston Celtics history.

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Although his time in Boston only lasted eight seasons, Cornbread did make them memorable ones. His big personality also had a big game. This two-time NBA champ was the MVP of the 1981 Finals, nearly averaging a double-double with 17.7 ppg and 9.5 rpg, but he perhaps delivered his best performance in Game 7 of the 1984 NBA Finals against the hated Lakers. He famously proclaimed, “Get on my back tonight, boys.” Then he poured in 24 points to hoist another trophy for the Celtics. More of your classic garbage man around the hoop, Maxwell led the league in field-goal % in consecutive seasons (’78-’79 and ’79-’80). Since he was always surrounded by accomplished scorers, Cornbread appropriately fit as a complementary piece on some great Boston teams. As he showed in producing championships in 1981 and 1984, Cedric Maxwell could step up in the big moments, so his jersey has a place in the rafters, and he deserves a place in the ranks of greatest small forwards in Celtics history.

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Limited to one paragraph, there is only so much you can get in about this Celtics legend: Larry Bird. Widely acknowledged as one of the NBA’s greatest players ever, this three-time NBA MVP, Hall of Famer, and three-time NBA champion helped rejuvenate the league in the 1980s. Franchise patriarch Red Auerbach sagely selected Bird a year earlier than normal to own his draft rights. Known for three epic battles with Magic Johnson and the LA Lakers in the NBA Finals, Bird’s teams won 60 or more games six out of seven seasons to start the 1980s. An all-around team player and playmaker, he is third on Boston’s all-time scoring list at 21,791 points and second in all-time steals with 1,556; he had career averages of 24.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg, and 6.3 apg. He won three consecutive NBA Three Point Shootouts, he had two 50/40/90 seasons, he won an All-Star Game MVP, he had 59 triple-doubles, and the list never ends. Indelible moments? There are too many to name, but the most talked about one might be his steal at the end of Game 5 in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals versus the Detroit Pistons. It was emblematic of Bird’s basketball IQ and court awareness. Although he was severely hampered by injuries his last few seasons, he was a member of the 1992 Dream Team, and he will forever be remembered as an all-time NBA great. That kind of qualifies Larry Bird as one of the best Boston Celtics small forwards.

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This is the only Celtics player with a retired number who did not win an NBA title. Out of famed Dunbar High in Baltimore, Reggie Lewis’s star tragically never got to fully shine. Drafted in 1987 as the 80s Celtics dynasty was dimming, this swing man was going to help carry Boston through the 1990s. After limited playing time his rookie year, Lewis averaged between 17.0 and 20.8 ppg his last five seasons on the parquet floor. His durability showed in those years too as he never played less than 79 games in a season. As most great Celtics do, he stepped up in the playoffs averaging over 20 points a game in four of those runs, topping out at 28.0 ppg in the 1992 playoffs, a season that included his only All-Star appearance. The following year in the playoffs, he left the first game with a heart-related issue and never returned. That summer Reggie’s heart problem resurfaced as he collapsed during a workout and subsequently passed away at the age of 27. If not for the tragic deaths of Lewis and Len Bias, who knows how many more Larry O’Brien trophies the Celtics would have added? Even though his career ended way too soon, Reggie Lewis still gets recognition as an all-time Boston Celtics small forward.

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The Truth was drafted 10th overall out of Kansas in the 1998 NBA Draft. Why do all of these Celtics have great nicknames? For 15 seasons, The Truth was undeniable in Boston. He averaged 16.5 ppg and shot over 40% from three-point range as he finished third in the ’99 Rookie of the Year voting. Maybe you heard of a guy named Vince Carter? Pierce was a consistent scorer and leader throughout his whole Boston tenure; he stands second on the Celtics all-time scoring list (24,021) and is first on their all-time steals list (1,583). The pinnacle of his career would be winning the 2008 NBA championship with Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett; Pierce was named Finals MVP as the Celtics took down the Lakers and ended a 22-year title drought. Who could forget him writhing in pain on the Garden floor before returning to rain down treys on Kobe and company? Besides that NBA championship trophy on his mantle, Pierce is an NBA Hall of Famer, a member of the 75th Anniversary Team, a 10-time All-Star, and no Celtic will ever wear #34 again. There is no question about The Truth: Paul Pierce is one of the greatest small forwards in Celtics history.

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Is it too early to include a 27-year-old on a list of all-time Boston Celtics? Well, the numbers and victories already validate Jayson Tatum’s status. In 2024 he was a major factor why the Celtics won their 18th NBA title. Entering his ninth season, this Duke product is one of the best players in the NBA, and he shows up in clutch moments. His 51-point performance in Game 7 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Sixers is the all-time league record in any Game 7. Added together with six All-Star appearances and four-straight First-Team All-NBA honors, this could be one of the greatest Celtics ever. Ultimate immortality in Boston is decided by NBA championships, and Tatum seems to lead the Celtics deep into May and June every spring. In the last six years, he has averaged at least 23.4 ppg and 7.0 rpg (a high of 30.1 ppg in ’22-’23), and those numbers increase in the playoffs. Another impressive stat is regularly playing over 70-some games a year in the load-management era of basketball. If this guy collects some more NBA titles along the way, Jayson Tatum could be the greatest small forward in Celtics history.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, February 17th, 2024 at 10:59 pm and is filed under Top 10 Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.