The Boston Celtics were formed in 1946 as a team in the Basketball Association of America, and became part of the National Basketball Association after the merger of the BAA and the National Basketball League to form the NBA in the fall of 1949. The Boston Celtics had struggled during their early years, but the hiring of Coach Red Auerbach would change their fortunes. In the 1956 season, the Boston Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals and defeated the St. Louis Hawks in seven games, giving the Celtics the first of their record 16 NBA Championships. In 1959, the Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship after sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers. Still coached by Auerbach, the Boston Celtics won another seven championships, thus winning eight in a row. The streak of 8 consecutive NBA championships is the longest streak of consecutive championships in U.S. sports history. After the 1966 championship, Auerbach retired as coach but remained General Manager of the Boston Celtics, a position he would hold well into the 1980s. The aging Boston Celtics managed two more championships in 1968 and 1969, each against the Lakers in the NBA Finals. In 1974 the Boston Celtics bested the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals, and in 1976 the Boston Celtics won yet another championship thanks to defeating the Phoenix Suns. The 1976 NBA Finals featured one of the greatest games in the history of the NBA. With the series tied at two games apiece, the Pheonix Suns trailed the Boton Celtics early in the Boston Garden, but came back to force overtime. A Gar Heard turn-around jumper at the top of the key sent the game to an unprecedented third overtime, at which point the Boston Celtics prevailed. Auerbach selected Larry Bird in the 1978 NBA Draft. Bird elected to remain in college for his senior year but the Boston Celtics retained his rights. Bird would debut for the Boston Celtics during the 1979-80 season, a year after his selection, and go on to win Rookie of the Year honors. The Boston Celtics went on to capture the NBA Championship in 1981, just two years after Bird had been drafted. In 1984 the Boston Celtics would come back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, thus winning their 15th championship. In 1986, the Boston Celtics fielded one of the best teams in NBA history. The Boston Celtics would win their 16th and last championship to date, easily defeating the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals.