The discussion of race and basketball doesn't take long to get to when the Celtics are involved, no matter who's wearing the uniform now. Sam Cassell, who joined the Celtics toward the end of the regular season, told the story of growing up in East Baltimore with his two favorite NBA players being white. "Larry Bird and Jeff Hornacek," Cassell said. "Why? Because they were both slow and they still got it done. I was the only kid in East Baltimore who loved Larry Bird. Did I get grief over that? Grief? Man, I'd have next and guys would say, 'You want next? Go to French Lick [Bird's home town] and get next there.' "

Everybody has a story about the Celtics, about a perception of the team, of Bird. Rose grew up in Detroit, a Pistons fan and a Celtic hater. "I went from crying when Bird stole the ball from Isiah and rooting against everything associated with Larry Bird, to having him as one of the biggest basketball influences in my life," Rose said, referring to his years playing for the Pacers when Bird was the head coach. "Bird's as much a brotha as anybody. We were from totally different worlds, yet had so much in common. It was awesome. I came back with Larry on his first trip back to Boston as coach. I get goose bumps thinking about it."

One of the things Rose did was learn as much as he could about Auerbach before the Celtics' architect passed away 20 months ago. "I don't think enough people know that Coach Auerbach empowered Bill Russell, hired him as head coach, at a time when I don't think any owner in any sport was doing that kind of thing. That was about 40 years ago. . . . You have to love that about him."

Jon Barry, son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry, grew up around basketball and he grew up "hearing the phrase 'token white guy' all the time," which didn't dissuade him from a career in basketball. "The funny thing is," Barry said, "my dad's best friend was Clifford Ray [who is black]. Charles Dudley, Charles Johnson [the Warriors' black players] . . . they were the guys who were around when I was a kid and I loved them. But in CYO basketball, we had no black guy on my team. There was only one black kid in the league in Northern California . . . We went to Oakland once, in the sixth grade, beat a [predominantly black] team there and had to have a police escort out of there. . . . Sixth grade! The thing is, there are certain perceptions about players or teams, but I think the bigger point to be made is most guys I've really gotten to know get past it all so quickly. It's not even a thought."

Slide show Year in Pictures 2009 - Sports Experience an audio slide show of the best sports and news images from around the world and close to home.

Perhaps it's not much of a thought now, not as much as it was every time the Celtics had a Greg Kite or Fred Roberts or Rick Robey on their roster. But perhaps it is. Black kids all over Boston are wearing Celtics jerseys, many for the first time. The stars are Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, all of them black. The head coach, Doc Rivers, is black.

Mark Jackson, who will call the action in these NBA Finals for ABC, grew up in New York hating the Celtics. Now, he observes as an outsider. "It's come such a long, long way," Jackson said the other day, "from what Bill Russell went through to the point where the city embraces this Celtics team that has essentially no white players. We've come this far. . . . Wow. I don't think this could have happened years and years ago. And I give credit to the guys on this Celtics team. They force you to like them because of the way they play and conduct themselves. You have no reason to dislike these guys. There's no reason to do anything but like them and admire the way they play, no matter what color they are."

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