Maine Celtics
The Maine Celtics are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo Building. The team debuted in the 2009–10 season as the Maine Red Claws and have since won three division titles. The Boston Celtics purchased the franchise in July 2019 from Maine Basketball, LLC, a company chaired by William Ryan, Jr.,[3] and renamed the team the Maine Celtics in 2021.[4]
| Maine Celtics | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Eastern |
| League | NBA G League |
| Founded | 2009 |
| History | Maine Red Claws 2009–2021 Maine Celtics 2021–present |
| Arena | Portland Exposition Building |
| Location | Portland, Maine |
| Team colors | Green, white, black, brown[1][2] |
| Main sponsor | Vistaprint |
| President | Dajuan Eubanks |
| General manager | Jarell Christian |
| Head coach | Vacant |
| Ownership | Boston Celtics |
| Affiliation(s) | Boston Celtics |
| Championships | 0 |
| Conference titles | 0 |
| Division titles | 3 (2015, 2016, 2017) |
| Website | maine |
Franchise history
On February 25, 2009, the NBA Development League (D-League) awarded the city of Portland, Maine, with an expansion franchise.[5] On July 21, 2009, the Red Claws announced Austin Ainge as the first head coach of the team.[6] On April 2, 2009, "Red Claws" was announced as the winning name after a name-the-team contest,[7] beating out Beacons, Crushers, Destroyers, Swarm, and Traps. The name and logo gave homage to the lobster fishing industry, a major economic engine of the New England area. The use of "Red" in the team's name also served to pay tribute to longtime Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach.[8] During the 2009–10 season, the Red Claws were the only D-League team to sell out all 24 of their home games. This streak continued until the 2011–12 season, ending the streak at 48 consecutive games.
On June 21, 2012, the Red Claws announced that they had entered a hybrid affiliation with the Boston Celtics, making the Celtics the Red Claws' sole affiliate.[9][10] For the team's first two seasons, their affiliation was split between the Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats. For its third season, the team's affiliation was split between Boston, Charlotte and the Philadelphia 76ers.[11]
The Red Claws made their first playoff appearance in April 2013, entering the playoffs as the eighth seeded team and being swept by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in a best-of-three-game opening round series.[12][13][14]
On July 16, 2014, the Red Claws announced that Mike Taylor would not return for a third season as the team's head coach.[15] He had a 45–55 record as coach over two seasons with the team.[15] He was replaced by Canadian Scott Morrison after 11 seasons as the head coach of Lakehead University's Lakehead Thunderwolves. Morrison spent the 2013–14 season as a D-League assistant.[16] On June 21, 2017, Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics head coach, named him as an assistant coach with the Celtics.[17] In 2017, the D-League rebranded as the NBA G League via a sponsorship with Gatorade.[18]
On July 25, 2019, the Celtics announced they would purchase the Red Claws franchise from original owners Bill Ryan and Bill Ryan, Jr. Before the sale, the Red Claws had been one of the few remaining independently owned G League franchises. Their sale to the Celtics continued the trend of NBA teams purchasing their G League affiliates.[19] The sale was finalized on October 15, 2019.[20]
On December 7, 2019, Bryce Brown set a franchise record with scoring 11 of 11 three-pointers for the Red Claws in a 128–123 loss to the Delaware Blue Coats.[21] The 2019–20 season was then curtailed in March 2020 by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic while the Red Claws were in first place in their division. The following 2020–21 season was then delayed due to the ongoing pandemic-related restrictions and eventually held at a single location in Orlando, Florida. However, the Celtics decided to not have the Red Claws participate and opted out of the season.[22]
On May 24, 2021, the Boston Celtics announced the Red Claws had been rebranded the Maine Celtics beginning with the 2021–22 season.[23]
Season-by-season
| Season | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Pct. | ||||||
| Maine Red Claws | |||||||||
| 2009–10 | Eastern | 4th | 27 | 23 | .540 | ||||
| 2010–11 | Eastern | 5th | 18 | 32 | .360 | ||||
| 2011–12 | Eastern | 6th | 21 | 29 | .420 | ||||
| 2012–13 | Eastern | 3rd | 26 | 24 | .520 | Lost First Round (Rio Grande Valley) 0–2 | |||
| 2013–14 | Eastern | 4th | 19 | 31 | .380 | ||||
| 2014–15 | Atlantic | 1st | 35 | 15 | .700 | Lost First Round (Fort Wayne) 0–2 | |||
| 2015–16 | Atlantic | 1st | 31 | 19 | .620 | Lost First Round (Canton) 0–2 | |||
| 2016–17 | Atlantic | 1st | 29 | 21 | .580 | Won First Round (Fort Wayne) 2–1 Lost Semifinals (Raptors 905) 0–2 | |||
| 2017–18 | Atlantic | 4th | 17 | 33 | .340 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Atlantic | 5th | 19 | 31 | .380 | ||||
| 2019–20 | Atlantic | 1st | 28 | 14 | .667 | Season cancelled by COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2020–21 | Opted out of single-site season | ||||||||
| Maine Celtics | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | Eastern | 10th | 16 | 16 | .500 | ||||
| 2022–23 | Eastern | 4th | 19 | 13 | .594 | Lost Quarterfinals (Cleveland) 100–113 | |||
| Regular season record | 305 | 301 | .503 | 2009–present | |||||
| Playoff record | 2 | 10 | .167 | 2009–present | |||||
Head coaches
| # | Head coach | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Achievements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | Win% | G | W | L | Win% | ||||
| 1 | Austin Ainge | 2009–11 | 100 | 45 | 55 | .450 | — | — | — | — | |
| 2 | Dave Leitao | 2011–12 | 50 | 21 | 29 | .420 | — | — | — | — | |
| 3 | Mike Taylor | 2012–14 | 100 | 45 | 55 | .450 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | |
| 4 | Scott Morrison | 2014–17 | 150 | 95 | 55 | .633 | 9 | 2 | 7 | .221 | NBA D-League Coach of the Year (2015) |
| 5 | Brandon Bailey | 2017–19 | 100 | 36 | 64 | .360 | — | — | — | — | |
| 6 | Darren Erman | 2019–2020 | 42 | 28 | 14 | .667 | — | — | — | — | |
| 7 | Jarell Christian | 2021–2022 | 32 | 16 | 16 | .500 | — | — | — | – | |
| 8 | Alex Barlow | 2022–2023 | 32 | 19 | 13 | .594 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | |
Current roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Roster |
Players assigned from NBA teams
- Bill Walker – assigned by the Boston Celtics on November 21, 2009
- Alexis Ajinça – assigned by the Charlotte Bobcats on November 30, 2009
- Lester Hudson – assigned by the Boston Celtics on December 15 and December 26, 2009
- Sherron Collins – assigned by the Charlotte Bobcats on December 8, 2010
- Avery Bradley – assigned by the Boston Celtics on January 14, 2011
- Craig Brackins – assigned by the Philadelphia 76ers on February 7, 2012
- Fab Melo – assigned by the Boston Celtics on November 14, 2012
- Kris Joseph – assigned by the Boston Celtics on November 14, 2012
- MarShon Brooks - assigned by the Boston Celtics on January 1, 2014
- Rajon Rondo – assigned by the Boston Celtics on January 15, 2014
- Vítor Faverani - assigned by the Boston Celtics on January 25, 2014
- Vander Blue - assigned by the Boston Celtics on January 31, 2014
- Jordan Mickey - assigned by the Boston Celtics on November 5, 2015
- Terry Rozier - assigned by the Boston Celtics on November 5, 2015
Players recalled by NBA teams
- Lester Hudson – recalled by the Boston Celtics on December 20, 2009
- Bill Walker – recalled by the Boston Celtics on December 23, 2009
- Alexis Ajinça – recalled by the Charlotte Bobcats on February 2, 2010
- Sherron Collins – recalled by the Charlotte Bobcats on December 21, 2010
- Avery Bradley – recalled by the Boston Celtics on February 7, 2011
- Craig Brackins – recalled by the Philadelphia 76ers on March 2, 2012
- Rajon Rondo – recalled by the Boston Celtics on January 15, 2014
- Jordan Mickey - recalled by the Boston Celtics on January 16, 2016
- Kadeem Allen - recalled by the Boston Celtics on January 29, 2018
NBA affiliates
- Boston Celtics (2009–present)
- Charlotte Bobcats (2009–2012)
- Philadelphia 76ers (2011–2012)
References
- ^ Boston, Evans (September 15, 2015). "Contact Us". Maine.GLeague.NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
Team Colors: Green, White & Black
- ^ "Maine Celtics Reproduction Guideline Sheet". NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ Mike Lowe (June 29, 2009). "Red Claws, Celtics make their partnership official". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012.
- ^ Boston, Evans (May 24, 2021). "Maine Red Claws Renamed Maine Celtics". Maine.GLeague.NBA.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ . Maine Red Claws. February 25, 2009. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012.
- ^ "Red Claws name Austin Ainge as head coach". The Forecaster. July 21, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ ""She's Your Lobster" | Memorable Lobster Moments in Pop Culture". New England Today. June 15, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ "27 Teams In 27 Days: Meet The Maine Red Claws". NBA G League. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. June 21, 2012. Archived from the original on January 10, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- ^ Toscano, Jimmy (June 21, 2012). "Celtics enter into single affiliation partnership with Red Claws". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- ^ "Maine Red Claws Add 76ers As Affiliate". CBS Boston. July 7, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ . Archived from the original on April 13, 2013.
- ^ . Archived from the original on April 14, 2013.
- ^ . Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
- ^ a b "Red Claws' Taylor not returning as head coach". Journal Tribune. July 16, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ Dunick, Leith (August 15, 2014). "End of an era". TBNewsWatch.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ Dunick, Leith (June 20, 2017). "Former Wolves coach named assistant with Celtics". TBNewsWatch.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ "NBA sells D-League sponsorship to Gatorade, renames it G-League". NBC Sports. February 14, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ "Boston Celtics reach deal to purchase Maine Red Claws". Portland Press Herald. July 25, 2019.
- ^ Snow, Taylor. "Celtics Complete Purchase of Maine Red Claws". Maine Red Claws. NBA G League. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
- ^ "Bryce Brown hits franchise 3's record in Red Claws loss". NBC Sports. December 7, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Roche, Conor (January 8, 2021). "Maine Red Claws will not participate in 2020-21 G League season". Boston.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ "Maine Red Claws Renamed Maine Celtics". OurSports Central. May 24, 2021.
External links
- Official website