The

2003–04 NBA season The 2003–04 NBA season was the 58th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Detroit Pistons defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in the 2004 NBA Finals. The 2003–04 NBA season was the culmination of ...

was the 58th season for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

.2003-04 Boston Celtics
/ref> During the offseason, the Celtics acquired

Raef LaFrentz Raef Andrew LaFrentz (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional basketball Power forward (basketball), power forward and Center (basketball), center who played for the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, and Portland Tra ...

, a teammate of

Paul Pierce Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. As of September 2024, he is a contributo ...

from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

, from the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. The Celtics roster move continued in December when

Tony Battie Demetrius Antonio Battie (born February 11, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He works as an analyst for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). High school and college career Battie attended ...

and

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician. He has been dubbed as the " Father of the Nation", having led the then-British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956, ...

were both traded to the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

for

Ricky Davis Tyree Ricardo Davis (born September 23, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Biography Davis atte ...

. In February, Mike James was traded to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

for Lindsey Hunter and Chucky Atkins in a three-team trade involving the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. However, Hunter was waived after the trade and later re-signed with the Pistons. The team also released

Vin Baker Vinny Lamont Baker (born November 23, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He appeared in four consecutive All-Star Games. He currently serves as an assistant coac ...

, who signed as a free agent with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. Celtics head coach Jim O'Brien resigned after a 22–24 start to the season. He was replaced by John Carroll for the remainder of the season. However, the Celtics would lose 12 of their first 13 games under Carroll. When General Manager

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and professional baseball player who serves as the chief executive officer for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NB ...

stated that the Celtics would be better off missing the playoffs, the statement seemed to motivate the team as they posted a 9–5 record in March. The Celtics, despite finishing fourth in the Atlantic Division with a low 36–46 record, qualified for the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

as the number 8 seed, making them the first NBA team to reach the playoffs with a below .500 record since the 1996–97 Los Angeles Clippers, who were swept by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

that postseason. They were swept in four games by the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

in the opening round. Pierce was selected for the

2004 NBA All-Star Game The 2004 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 15, 2004, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, home of the Lakers and Clippers. This game was the 53rd edition of the North American National Basketball ...

. Following the season, Carroll was fired as coach and replaced by

Doc Rivers Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). An NBA player for 14 seasons, he was an NB ...

, who also fired by the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

after 1–10 start. Neither of the Celtics' home playoff games against Indiana sold out, an increasingly rare occurrence among any NBA playoff teams by the 2000s. The team only drew over 17,300 to Game 3 and about 16,400 to Game 4, thousands of tickets below the FleetCenter's capacity of 18,624. (In fact, neither did Indiana, who only drew as high as 17,000 to Game 2.)

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , April 17 , @

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

L 88–104
,

(20) ,

(10) , three players tied (4) ,

Conseco Fieldhouse CNO Financial Group, Inc. (formerly Conseco, Inc. (from Consolidated National Security Corporation)) is an American financial services holding company based in Carmel, Indiana. Its insurance subsidiaries provide life insurance, annuity and supp ...

16,605 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , April 20 , @

L 90–103
,

(27) , Mark Blount (10) , Chucky Atkins (6) ,

17,347 , 0–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , April 23 ,

L 85–108
,

(16) , Mark Blount (8) ,

(7) , FleetCenter
17,680 , 0–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , April 25 ,

L 75–90
,

(27) , Mark Blount (13) ,

Walter McCarty Walter Lee McCarty (born February 1, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who serves as the head coach of the Freseros de Irapuato in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). McCarty played for the NBA ...

(5) , FleetCenter
16,389 , 0–4 , -

Player statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 24 , , 24 , , 33.0 , , .418 , , .351 , , .778 , , 1.9 , , 5.3 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 37 , , 33 , , 27.0 , , .505 , , .000 , , .732 , , 5.7 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .6 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 81 , , 2 , , 17.1 , , .400 , , .314 , , .756 , , 1.6 , , 2.2 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 1 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .667 , , , , 1.000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 23 , , 6 , , 21.8 , , .479 , , 1.000 , , .697 , , 5.1 , , .9 , , .3 , , .9 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 82 , , 73 , , 29.3 , , .566 , , , , .719 , , 7.2 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 21 , , 10 , , 19.4 , , .455 , , .375 , , .615 , , 3.2 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .1 , , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 57 , , 5 , , 29.4 , , .488 , , .380 , , .732 , , 4.2 , , 2.6 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 5 , , 0 , , 1.1 , , .505 , , .381 , , .785 , , .7 , , .5 , , .3 , , .1 , , 1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 36 , , 12 , , 11.3 , , .457 , , .000 , , .442 , , 3.3 , , .5 , , .4 , , .0 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 55 , , 55 , , 30.6 , , .418 , , .381 , , .800 , , 3.2 , , 4.4 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 42 , , 2 , , 8.9 , , .344 , , .295 , , .609 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , .3 , , .2 , , 2.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 17 , , 1 , , 19.3 , , .460 , , .200 , , .769 , , 4.6 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .8 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 77 , , 23 , , 24.7 , , .388 , , .374 , , .756 , , 3.1 , , 1.6 , , .9 , , .3 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 54 , , 16 , , 17.4 , , .500 , , , , .644 , , 5.1 , , .2 , , .5 , , .8 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 10 , , 0 , , 3.5 , , .533 , , , , .667 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .0 , , .2 , , 2.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 80 , , 80 , , 38.7 , , .402 , , .299 , , .819 , , 6.5 , , 5.1 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , 23.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 17 , , 0 , , 4.2 , , .400 , , , , .500 , , .6 , , .0 , , .1 , , .1 , , .3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 81 , , 68 , , 26.9 , , .428 , , .381 , , .743 , , 3.7 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 21 , , 0 , , 24.4 , , .435 , , .344 , , .716 , , 4.5 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 11.6

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", , 4 , , 4 , , 33.3 , , .436 , , .300 , , .895 , , 3.5 , , 3.8 , , .8 , , .0 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 4 , , 0 , , 15.0 , , .438 , , .400 , , 1.000 , , 1.8 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .3 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 1 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , .000 , , , , , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 4 , , 4 , , 36.3 , , .486 , , , , .737 , , 9.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , 2.0 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 4 , , 0 , , 30.8 , , .400 , , .400 , , .688 , , 3.0 , , 3.5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 3 , , 0 , , 3.3 , , 1.000 , , , , , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .3 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 2 , , 0 , , 14.0 , , .333 , , .000 , , , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 4 , , 4 , , 31.8 , , .478 , , .400 , , , , 5.3 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .5 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 4 , , 0 , , 16.3 , , .318 , , , , .600 , , 4.5 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 4 , , 4 , , 40.5 , , .342 , , .294 , , .839 , , 8.8 , , 2.5 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 20.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 1 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , , , , , , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 4 , , 4 , , 26.0 , , .478 , , .250 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .0 , , 8.0

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

Player statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

References

See also