Boston Celtics coach Arnold "Red" Auerbach led his team to nine National Basketball Association championships, including an unprecedented eight consecutive wins (1959-1966) during the Celtics' run of eleven championships in thirteen years (1957-1969)—compare that to the Chicago Bulls' six out of eight streak in the 1990s—and introduced coaching innovations that became widespread in the NBA. One of the most enduring images in NBA history is that of Auerbach lighting a victory cigar on the team's bench once another Celtics' victory was safely in hand.

The son of Russian immigrants who settled in Brooklyn, New York, Auerbach devoted himself at an early age to basketball. He excelled as a high school player, eventually being named Second Team, All-Brooklyn during his senior year at Eastern District High School. After attending Seth Low Junior College in New York for two years, Auerbach earned a basketball...