Boston.com readers picked the Bill Russell trade as region’s best

Sports News Here’s what Boston.com readers chose as the best trade in Boston sports history Just as he did during his legendary Celtics career, Bill Russell dominated from start to finish. Bill Russell and Red Auerbach at the Boston Garden in Dec. 1964. AP Photo/Bill Chaplis
The call went out to Boston.com readers to answer a specific local question amid March Madness: What’s the best trade in Boston sports history?
After a little over a week, and thousands of casted votes, we have an answer.
According to Boston.com readers, the winner of the 2025 bracket competition is the Celtics’ 1956 trade for Hall of Fame center Bill Russell.
The deal, which landed Boston its foundational superstar — who would go on to help the Celtics win 11 championships in 13 seasons, emerged as the winner by a clear margin.
In the final, the Russell trade beat the Bill Belichick trade to the Patriots in 2000 by a 79-21-percent margin. In all, it garnered 8,476 votes throughout its victorious bracket run, with just 562 votes for its competitors.
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The trade marched a predictable but far-from-assured path to the title. The Russell Trade was listed as the No. 1 overall seed in the bracket, but still had to overcome the second and fourth overall seeds (against Belichick and the 1997 Pedro Martinez deal, respectively).
Yet Boston.com readers were emphatic in their voting choices, leaving no doubt which trade would stand alone.
Similar to the men’s NCAA Tournament bracket in 2025, the “Best Trades” version was light on upsets. Other than the ninth-seeded Randy Moss from 2007 defeating the eighth-seeded Jimmie Foxx deal from 1935, and the sixth-seeded 1980 Robert Parish-Kevin McHale trade defeating the third-seeded 2007 Kevin Garnett blockbuster, there were no upsets to speak of.
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In the end, it was a battle of the “Bills,” with Russell and Belichick meeting in the championship round as the two top seeds.
Hayden Bird Sports Staff Hayden Bird is a sports staff writer for Boston.com, where he has worked since 2016. He covers all things sports in New England.