The 1981–82 Boston Celtics season was the 36th season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Celtics entered the season as the defending NBA champions. They finished the season with the best record in the NBA.
Draft picks
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Regular season
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | October 30 | Washington | W 124–100 | | | | Boston Garden | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | October 31 | @ Milwaukee | L 103–119 | | | | MECCA Arena | 1–1
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | November 4 | Chicago | W 115–93 | | | | Boston Garden | 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | November 6 | Indiana | W 111–94 | | | | Boston Garden | 3–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | November 7 | @ Detroit | W 129–88 | | | | Pontiac Silverdome | 4–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 6 | November 10 | @ Washington | W 90–84 | | | | Capital Centre | 5–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 7 | November 11 | Kansas City | W 115–100 | | | | Boston Garden | 6–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 8 | November 13 | New Jersey | W 111–97 | | | | Hartford Civic Center | 7–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 9 | November 14 | @ Cleveland | W 92–91 | | | | Richfield Coliseum | 8–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 10 | November 17 | @ Chicago | W 98–95 | | | | Chicago Stadium | 9–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 11 | November 18 | Houston | L 104–106 | | | | Boston Garden | 9–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 12 | November 20 | Milwaukee | W 112–89 | | | | Boston Garden | 10–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 13 | November 25 | Golden State | W 122–101 | | | | Boston Garden | 11–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 14 | November 27 | Washington | W 113–100 | | | | Boston Garden | 12–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 15 | November 28 | @ Atlanta | W 98–90 | | | | The Omni | 13–2
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 16 | December 1 | @ Indiana | L 87–90 | | | | Market Square Arena | 13–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 17 | December 2 | Detroit | W 115–114 | | | | Boston Garden | 14–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 18 | December 4 | Philadelphia | W 111–103 | | | | Boston Garden | 15–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 19 | December 5 | @ New York | L 83–103 | | | | Madison Square Garden | 15–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 20 | December 9 | New Jersey | W 109–100 | | | | Boston Garden | 16–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 21 | December 11 | Atlanta | W 94–86 | | | | Hartford Civic Center | 17–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 22 | December 12 | @ Atlanta | L 97–108 | | | | The Omni | 17–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 23 | December 16 | Dallas | W 109–92 | | | | Boston Garden | 18–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 24 | December 18 | @ Washington | W 99–98 | | | | Capital Centre | 19–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 25 | December 19 | @ Philadelphia | L 118–123 (OT) | | | | The Spectrum | 19–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 26 | December 22 | Cleveland | W 120–116 | | | | Boston Garden | 20–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 27 | December 26 | @ Kansas City | W 124–119 (OT) | | | | Kemper Arena | 21–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 28 | December 29 | @ Denver | L 123–128 | | | | McNichols Sports Arena | 21–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 29 | December 30 | @ Utah | W 121–110 | | | | Salt Palace Acord Arena | 22–7