Ultimate 5: The best Celtics lineup since '95

While hoops remain on hiatus, theScore's NBA editors will be compiling ultimate starting lineups for each team in the Association. The catch: Only players who have been in the league since the 1995-96 season can be included.

The Boston Celtics are the NBA's most decorated franchise, owning a record 17 championships thanks in large part to their overwhelming dominance during the 1960s. The past 25 seasons haven't been quite as fruitful, however, with the organization winning only a single title in that span.

Still, the Celtics have featured a number of All-Stars and Hall of Famers since the mid-1990s, most notably during their 2007-08 championship season.

Guard

Rajon Rondo

Thrust into the national spotlight in his second NBA season after the Celtics formed a Big Three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen, Rondo didn't disappoint as the floor general of a team with immediate title expectations.

On top of winning a championship in 2008, Rondo was fortunate enough to hone his craft while starting alongside that trio of stars, which surely helped him develop into the stellar two-way talent he became.

Rondo averaged 11 points, 8.5 assists, and 1.7 steals in 527 games with the Celtics, making four consecutive All-Star appearances from 2009-13. He was also named to four NBA All-Defensive teams and one All-NBA team during his time with Boston.

Guard

Ray Allen

Few players could've meshed with co-stars Pierce and Garnett as seamlessly as Allen did thanks to his elite floor-spacing ability. The Hall of Famer was a three-time All-Star during his five seasons in Boston, finishing outside the top five in made 3-pointers just twice.

After averaging 16.7 points on 40.7% shooting from deep during his time with the Celtics, Allen spurned the organization for the Miami Heat in free agency in 2012. While that decision still angers some of his former teammates and Boston fans to this day, there's no denying the NBA's all-time leader in career 3-pointers earned his spot on this list.

Forward

Antoine Walker

Along with Pierce, Walker was one of the Celtics' few proven scoring options in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The former sixth overall pick averaged 20.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists across 552 games with the team, earning three All-Star nods and guiding the team to the 2002 Eastern Conference finals.

Traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 2003, Walker briefly returned to Boston for 24 games during the 2004-05 season after the Celtics re-acquired him from the Atlanta Hawks.

Forward

Paul Pierce

Pierce remains a beloved figure in Boston after the team selected him 10th overall in the 1998 NBA Draft. One of the league's fiercest competitors throughout his 15-season Celtics tenure, "The Truth" was a 10-time All-Star, made four All-NBA teams, and won Finals MVP in 2008 while helping deliver the team its first championship in 22 years.

In addition to owning franchise records for 3-pointers made, free throws made, and career steals, the future Hall of Famer ranks second on the Celtics' all-time scoring list with 24,021 points.

Forward-Center

Kevin Garnett

Garnett's arrival in 2007 completely altered the Celtics' identity. They went from a middling defensive team to the best defensive unit in basketball after Garnett came to town in a blockbuster trade from Minnesota, allowing 8.9 fewer points per game during his first season in Boston. The Celtics ranked top five in defensive rating in five of Garnett's six campaigns with the team.

"The Big Ticket" won Defensive Player of the Year and finished third in MVP voting after the 2007-08 regular season, then took his game to another level in the playoffs en route to capturing the lone championship of his Hall of Fame career.

Garnett was named to one All-NBA first team and four NBA All-Defensive teams while with Boston, making five All-Star appearances over the course of his Celtics tenure.

Just Missed

Isaiah Thomas

Though he only played 179 regular-season games for the club, Thomas quickly emerged as one of the most beloved players to don a Celtics uniform in recent memory. The 5-foot-9 point guard became a surprising MVP candidate when he averaged 28.9 points and 5.9 assists in 2016-17.

Jayson Tatum

Tatum was in the midst of a breakout year before basketball was put on hold, averaging a career-best 23.6 points through 59 games in 2019-20. With less than three seasons of NBA experience to his name, the Duke product hasn't produced the body of work to surpass Walker in this starting lineup just yet. But that won't be the case for much longer if Tatum continues his ascent toward stardom.