NBA: Boston Celtics' greatest starting five

With the NBA Draft and action from the NBA Summer League’s done and dusted, the NBA has reached a lull in action. With the off-season in full flow, the league fans across the world have been left with not much to cheer for other than the fact that point guard Derrick Rose is 100% fit and healthy for the coming NBA season, as he is currently practising with the USA National Basketball Team for the upcoming FIBA World Cup in Spain.So to spice the off-season a tad, in a series of articles we will look at the greatest starting line-ups of the 5 most successful NBA franchises ever.First up are the Boston Celtics, the team with most NBA Championships and most jersey numbers retired and most Hall of Famers. The C’s lead the league with 17 NBA titles won, just one ahead of their nemesis and arch rivals Los Angeles Lakers. So here is how the list of the greatest ever starting line-up for the Celtics would look:

#1 Point Guard: Bob Cousy

The only other players who come close to having a shot at the position for point guard are Dennis Johnson and Rajon Rondo. While Johnson is not as accomplished as Cousy, Rondo has yet to prove the full extent of his greatness – he has played just 8 years of what could be an illustrious career ahead, and therefore it is too early to put him ahead of Cousy.

Before legendary 11-time NBA Champion Bill Russell established his dominance with the Celtics, it was Cousy who brought the title to Boston in 1957 when Russell was only in his rookie season. 1957 was one of the best years Cousy had in his playing career, in which he also earned his first NBA league MVP title and was named the All-Star Game MVP for the second time in his career.

Prior to making a mark in the NBA with his five titles, Cousy had also won an NCAA Championship with his college Holy Cross. His number 14 jersey has been retired by the C’s and hangs in the rafters among many others in the TD Garden, Celtics home court.

Cousy was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971 and is also known as the first great point guard of the league, winning the assist crown eight out of first 11 seasons of the league.