NBA History on CLNS

Walter McCarty: 2008 Celtics MUCH BETTER than 2026 76ers!

525 views · 1d ago · 48:11

Guest: Walter McCarty

Former Celtics fan favorite Walter McCarty joins Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguay, and he has a lot to say about the 2008 Celtics and this year's 76ers. McCarty compares the 2008 champions' Big Three, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, stars who could score without the ball, with Philadelphia's LeBron, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, and says the 76ers have "too many ball dominant guys." In his words, it's "going to hurt them in the end."

Topics: Walter McCarty on Tommy Heinsohn & “I Love Walter” · Kentucky Memories & 1996 National Championship · Recruiting, Bobby Knight & Choosing Kentucky · Antoine Walker & Kentucky Teammates · Rick Pitino: Kentucky vs. Celtics · PrizePicks

Bob Ryan’s Top 10 Celtics Players of All-Time

4.5K views · 3d ago · 16:54

Bob Ryan counts down his top 10 Boston Celtics of all time, and the list has debates built in. Bill Russell is No. 1, Larry Bird is No. 2 (Ryan says he won't allow any argument between them), Jayson Tatum lands at No. 9 and edges out Tommy Heinsohn, and Bill Sharman doesn't make the cut at all.

Topics: Coming up · Bob Ryan’s Top 10 Celtics Players of All-Time · Players who just missed the cut · Prizepicks · Top Celtics Players of All Time Honorable Mentions · Bob Reviews his list

The Lakers Coach Magic Got Fired 😳 Bob Ryan Explains

1.8K views · 1w ago · 8:36

Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguay on the Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman Podcast: why did Magic Johnson refuse to play for Paul Westhead? Ryan tells the story: Jack McKinney's bicycle accident, Westhead taking over the Lakers, the clash over Showtime tempo vs. Kareem's low-post game, and Magic winning the battle "with the owner rather than the coach." Then Westhead's 1990-91 Denver Nuggets, which Ryan calls the craziest team in NBA history.

Topics: Coming Up: Magic vs. Westhead · Setting Up the 1982 Lakers · How Paul Westhead Became the Lakers' Coach · Why Magic Clashed With Westhead & Riley Takes Over · Westhead's Nuggets: The Craziest Team in NBA History · Winning Time Casting & the Nuggets' Scorers

NO AMERICANS? Bob Ryan Reacts to NBA's USA TODAY Top 100 Players List |

1.4K views · 1w ago · 20:16

On this episode of the Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman NBA podcast Bob and Gary Tanguay take a look at USA Today's Top 20 Players list for the 2026-27 NBA season to discussing the top 100 players in the league, Bob and Gary break down the rankings and share their perspectives on today's NBA landscape. With different generations of basketball experience and plenty of opinions, this episode brings thoughtful analysis and debate to some of the biggest questions facing the league.

Topics: Coming up · Reacting to USA Today’s Top 20 Players list for 2026-27 Season · 76ers have 4 players in Top 100 · Cade Cunningham vs Jayson Tatum · Top 5 Players all Non-Americans · Prizepicks

Bob Ryan on Wilt Chamberlain: His Stats Were SCIENCE FICTION! 🧪😳

10K views · 1w ago · 16:54

Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguay on the Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman Podcast: Wilt Chamberlain, one of the most underappreciated players in NBA history. Ryan breaks down Wilt's three-phase career, why his numbers read like science fiction, Wilt vs. Bill Russell (a rivalry Ryan ranks above Bird vs. Magic), the 1967 76ers who ended the Celtics' run, Wilt vs. Shaq, and whether Russell let Wilt pad his stats.

Topics: Coming Up: Wilt's Numbers Were Science Fiction · Wilt Chamberlain, Underappreciated? · Overbrook, Kansas & the Globetrotters · The Three Phases of Wilt's Career · Wilt vs. Bill Russell: Greatest Rivalry Ever? · The 1967 76ers & Game 5 vs. the Celtics

Bob McAdoo's Forgotten Celtics Trade: Bob Ryan Explains How Red Treated Him 😳

2.5K views · 2w ago · 6:59

Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguay on the Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman Podcast: Bob McAdoo, the three-time scoring champion who became a forgotten man. Ryan on McAdoo's role off the bench for the 1982 champion Lakers, and the Celtics chapter he calls "so unfair": the trade, arriving in San Antonio to an empty hotel lobby, Dave Cowens benching himself to start him, and the free-agent compensation that sent him to Detroit.

Topics: Coming Up: What Did McAdoo Bring to the Lakers? · McAdoo on the Lakers · The Forgotten Man: Buffalo, New York, Boston · Arriving in Boston: Dave Cowens' Sacrifice · The M.L. Carr Compensation Deal · The Shot: McAdoo's Quick Release

Lakers Legend Michael Cooper: 76ers Will Be Better Than the Celtics for 3 Years 😳

888 views · 2w ago · 22:48

Guest: Lakers Legend Michael Cooper

Michael Cooper and CLNS Media's Nick Gelso are back with Showtime with Coop and the 2026-27 season previews. Coop makes the case that the 76ers will be better than the Celtics for at least the next three years, and says Philadelphia wins a championship before Boston. Nick pushes back: the Celtics have cap flexibility in two years, and he thinks Philly implodes by January.

Topics: Coming Up: 76ers Over Celtics? · Showtime with Coop Is Back · Lakers Preview: Luka, Reaves & the Post-LeBron Era · Celtics Preview: Play-In or Third Seed? · PrizePicks · 76ers Preview: LeBron, Embiid & Jaylen Brown

The Only Time Larry Bird Got Swept: Why the 1983 Celtics Quit on Bill Fitch 😳

6K views · 2w ago · 1:06:37

Glenn Ordway, Johnny Most's longtime Celtics radio partner, joins Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguay. Ordway makes the case that people forget how great Larry Bird was, and that Bird would thrive in today's three-point game. Ryan calls Nikola Jokić Bird's spiritual heir.

Topics: Coming Up: Larry Bird in Today's NBA · Glenn Ordway Joins Bob Ryan & Gary Tanguay · The '86 Celtics, the '83 Sweep & Bill Fitch · People Forget How Great Larry Bird Was · LeBron at 42 vs. Tom Brady · PrizePicks

Bob Ryan: "Don't Embarrass Rick Barry by Comparing Him to John Havlicek" 😳

11K views · 3w ago · 23:39

Guest: Bob Ryan

Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguay on the Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman Podcast. A listener asks: after 1974, was Rick Barry a better player than John Havlicek? Ryan answers with Havlicek's defense, durability and minutes, and Barry's scoring and his 1975 title run. Then Ryan covers Kevin McHale without Larry Bird, the 1980 draft-day trade that brought McHale and Robert Parish to Boston, Parish vs. Kareem, and Bill Walton stories.

Topics: Coming Up: Barry vs. Havlicek · Bob Ryan on Rick Barry vs. John Havlicek · PrizePicks · How Good Is McHale Without Bird? · Bird, the Greatest Post Feeder · The 1980 Draft: Carroll, Griffith, McHale

Larry Bird vs. Chuck Person: The TRASH TALKING Nobody Remembers 📼 1991 Playoffs Tapes

2.3K views · 3w ago · 16:35

Another entry from the CLNS archive vault — April 26, 1991, Boston Garden. Game 1 of the Celtics–Pacers first-round series, and the night a Larry Bird–Chuck Person rivalry that started in Person's rookie year boiled over on live TV.

Topics: Nick Sets Up Game 1 · TNT Highlights Begin · Bird's First Field Goal After 0-for-6 · Bird, Person and the McHale Shove · Bird's Triple-Double · Bird Strips Chuck Person

Bob Ryan: How Good Would Kevin McHale Be Without Larry Bird? 😳

8.3K views · 4w ago · 17:36

Guest: Bob Ryan

Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguay on the Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman Podcast: how good would Kevin McHale have been without Larry Bird? Ryan breaks down McHale's game, Bird as the best post feeder he's seen, the 1980 draft-day trade that brought McHale and Robert Parish to Boston, Parish vs. Kareem, and Bill Walton stories.

Topics: Coming Up: McHale Without Bird? · How Good Is McHale Without Bird? · Bird, the Greatest Post Feeder · Scouting McHale and the 1980 Draft · Red Auerbach's Draft-Day Maneuvering · Parish: The Other Half of the Heist

Larry Bird Played All 48 Mins of Game 7 vs Pistons 😳 | The 1987 Tapes

2K views · 1mo ago · 10:57

Another entry from the CLNS archive vault — May 30, 1987, Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Pistons at Celtics in a sweltering Boston Garden. Four days after Larry Bird's steal saved Game 5, Detroit won Game 6 and came back to Boston one win from the Finals. Robert Parish played 42 minutes on a sprained ankle. K.C. Jones coached two days after his mother's funeral. Joe Dumars scored 35 on 21 shots.

Topics: Title Card · The Setup · First Half · Drop 1 — Dumars · Third Quarter · The Collision

Jeff Goodman on Kevin McHale: "We Will NEVER See Anyone Like Him Again!"

2.2K views · 1mo ago · 7:32

Jeff Goodman and Gary Tanguay on Kevin McHale: a post scorer so unstoppable that getting him the ball meant the possession was already over. Part of the trade that also brought Robert Parish to Boston for the rights to Joe Barry Carroll — arguably the greatest trade in NBA history, and it delivered three championships.

Topics: The Kevin McHale topic & the Joe Barry Carroll trade · McHale's unstoppable post moves · Bird/McHale vs. Tatum/Jaylen Brown · McHale's underrated defense · The 1980s Celtics frontline dominance · McHale's back-to-the-basket mastery

Larry Bird vs. Dominique Wilkins — The Duel Before THE Duel 📼 The 1988 Tapes

2.9K views · 1mo ago · 14:15

Another entry from the CLNS archive vault — March 13, 1988, Boston Garden, and Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins are already trading buckets 2 months before the playoff duel that made them legends. Bird works for every one of his 28 points against a physical Atlanta defense, with Wilkins hounding him most of the night for 26. Kevin McHale tortures Kevin Willis in the post for 24 and 7. Danny Ainge, in his lone All-Star season, adds 22.

Topics: Highlight teaser · Nick introduces the Hawks vs. Celtics game · Game highlights begin (first half) · PrizePicks · Second half highlights · Nick's wrap-up & channel announcements

Why Larry Bird Shot Better With Goggles He Hated | The 1988 Tapes 📼

5K views · 1mo ago · 14:05

Another entry from the CLNS archive vault — March 15, 1988, Market Square Arena, and Larry Bird is playing with a fractured orbital bone and a pair of goggles he couldn't stand. Nine days earlier, a Dell Curry elbow broke the bone under Bird's left eye. He finished that game seeing two rims. Three nights later he showed up in goggles and scored 36 on the Spurs.

Topics: The 1988 Goggle Game · The Dell Curry Elbow · 36 Points vs Spurs · Celtics vs Pacers 1988 · Larry Bird 4-Game Run · Bulls Game Without Goggles