Maine Celtics
Maine Celtics logo
ConferenceEastern
LeagueNBA G League
Founded2009
HistoryMaine Red Claws
2009–2021
Maine Celtics
2021–present
ArenaPortland Exposition Building
LocationPortland, Maine
Team colorsGreen, white, black, brown[1][2]
       
Main sponsorVistaprint
PresidentDajuan Eubanks
General managerJarell Christian
Head coachBlaine Mueller
OwnershipBoston Celtics
Affiliation(s)Boston Celtics
Championships0
Conference titles0
Division titles3 (2015, 2016, 2017)
Websitemaine.gleague.nba.com

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]

Franchise history

The Maine Red Claws logo, used from 2009 to 2021
The Maine Red Claws logo, used from 2009 to 2021

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.

The Red Claws against the Dakota Wizards in the Portland Exposition Building in January 2011.

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
FinishWinsLossesPct.
Maine Red Claws
2009–10Eastern4th2723.540
2010–11Eastern5th1832.360
2011–12Eastern6th2129.420
2012–13Eastern3rd2624.520Lost First Round (Rio Grande Valley) 0–2
2013–14Eastern4th1931.380
2014–15Atlantic1st3515.700Lost First Round (Fort Wayne) 0–2
2015–16Atlantic1st3119.620Lost First Round (Canton) 0–2
2016–17Atlantic1st2921.580Won First Round (Fort Wayne) 2–1
Lost Semifinals (Raptors 905) 0–2
2017–18Atlantic4th1733.340
2018–19Atlantic5th1931.380
2019–20Atlantic1st2814.667Season cancelled by COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21Opted out of single-site season
Maine Celtics
2021–22Eastern10th1616.500
2022–23Eastern4th1913.594Lost Quarterfinals (Cleveland) 100–113
Regular season record305301.5032009–present
Playoff record210.1672009–present

Head coaches

# Head coach Term Regular season Playoffs Achievements
GWLWin%GWLWin%
1Austin Ainge2009–111004555.450————
2Dave Leitao2011–12502129.420————
3Mike Taylor2012–141004555.450202.000
4Scott Morrison2014–171509555.633927.221NBA D-League Coach of the Year (2015)
5Brandon Bailey2017–191003664.360————
6Darren Erman2019–2020422814.667————
7Jarell Christian2021–2022321616.500———–
8Alex Barlow2022–2023321913.594101.000
9Blaine Mueller2023–present––––———–

Current roster

Maine Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
C 5 Banks, James III 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1998-01-16 Georgia Tech
G 7 Carey, Donald 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1999-08-21 Maryland
G 3 Davison, JD (TW) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-10-03 Alabama
F 19 Delaire, Jaiden 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2000-08-31 San Diego
G 2 Edwards, Rob 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1997-01-20 Arizona State
G 22 Jackson, Jordan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-06-25 UTRGV
F/C 24 Kelley, Kylor 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1997-08-26 Oregon State
F 13 Peterson, Drew (TW) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1999-11-09 USC
C 88 Queta, Neemias (TW) 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 248 lb (112 kg) 1999-07-13 Utah State
G 8 Schakel, Jordan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1998-06-13 San Diego State
F 10 Slater, Brandon 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1999-09-14 Villanova
G/F 21 Snell, Tony 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1991-11-10 New Mexico
G 9 Steward, DJ 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 162 lb (73 kg) 2001-10-02 Duke
G 27 Walsh, Jordan (NBA) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2004-03-03 Arkansas
Head coach
  • Blaine Mueller
Assistant coach(es)
  • John Little (Associate HC)
  • Steve Tchiengang
  • Austin Vereen
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (P) Prospects
  • (NBA) On assignment from NBA affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: December 26, 2023

NBA affiliates

References

  1. ↑ Boston, Evans (September 15, 2015). "Contact Us". Maine.GLeague.NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved September 19, 2021. Team Colors: Green, White & Black
  2. ↑ "Maine Celtics Reproduction Guideline Sheet". NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  3. ↑ Mike Lowe (June 29, 2009). "Red Claws, Celtics make their partnership official". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "NBA Development League Expands to Portland, Maine". Maine Red Claws. February 25, 2009. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Red Claws name Austin Ainge as head coach". The Forecaster. July 21, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  7. ↑ ""She's Your Lobster" | Memorable Lobster Moments in Pop Culture". New England Today. June 15, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  8. ↑ "27 Teams In 27 Days: Meet The Maine Red Claws". NBA G League. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  9. ↑ "BOSTON CELTICS AND MAINE RED CLAWS ENTER INTO SINGLE AFFILIATION PARTNERSHIP BEGINNING WITH 2012-13 SEASON" (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. June 21, 2012. Archived from the original on January 10, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  10. ↑ Toscano, Jimmy (June 21, 2012). "Celtics enter into single affiliation partnership with Red Claws". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Maine Red Claws Add 76ers As Affiliate". CBS Boston. July 7, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Furious Red Claws' Rally Falls Short". Archived from the original on April 13, 2013.
  13. ↑ "RED CLAWS TO OPEN FIRST ROUND OF PLAYOFFS AT HOME THURSDAY". Archived from the original on April 14, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Maine Basketball LLC owner bios". Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  15. 1 2 "Red Claws' Taylor not returning as head coach". Journal Tribune. July 16, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  16. ↑ Dunick, Leith (August 15, 2014). "End of an era". TBNewsWatch.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  17. ↑ Dunick, Leith (June 20, 2017). "Former Wolves coach named assistant with Celtics". TBNewsWatch.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  18. ↑ "NBA sells D-League sponsorship to Gatorade, renames it G-League". NBC Sports. February 14, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Boston Celtics reach deal to purchase Maine Red Claws". Portland Press Herald. July 25, 2019.
  20. ↑ Snow, Taylor. "Celtics Complete Purchase of Maine Red Claws". Maine Red Claws. NBA G League. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Bryce Brown hits franchise 3's record in Red Claws loss". NBC Sports. December 7, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  22. ↑ Roche, Conor (January 8, 2021). "Maine Red Claws will not participate in 2020-21 G League season". Boston.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Maine Red Claws Renamed Maine Celtics". OurSports Central. May 24, 2021.
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