With Banner 18 secured, this Celtics team has proven all doubters wrong.
The Celtics have reclaimed the NBA championship, ushering in a new era. Jayson Tatum no longer needs to prove his abilities, having reached the pinnacle of success. Jaylen Brown can rest assured that he won’t be traded for a better player, as he has surpassed all potential replacements. Brad Stevens is no longer seen as the coach who couldn’t finish the job or the inexperienced executive searching for the right combination; he has masterfully led the team to their 18th championship, reminiscent of Red Auerbach’s legendary leadership.
The scrappy, determined Celtics who fought hard to earn their place in history are now transformed. They are NBA champions following one of the most dominant playoff performances ever. Given their strong roster and the league’s dynamics, this victory likely marks just the beginning of their success.
The ups and downs of the past seven years have all been leading to this moment, where the Celtics have synthesized every near-miss and lesson learned into a championship win. As time goes on, we’ll forget the weakened teams they defeated this spring and remember only how they dominated the league from beginning to end.
They won the Eastern Conference by an astounding 14 games, reached 64 wins for just the fourth time in their illustrious history, and capped off a 16-3 postseason by defeating the overmatched Mavericks in five games. They achieved this with the statistically greatest offense in NBA history, featuring a relentless barrage of 3-pointers, the dynamic duo of Brown and Tatum, and the formidable high-post game of Kristaps Porzingis. Although Porzingis’ health will be a concern for the duration of his contract, if this year turns out to be a one-off like Bill Walton’s, it will be remembered as the year the 7-footer made the Celtics unstoppable.
Many legacies have been forever changed. Al Horford, once the second-longest tenured player without a title, happily steps down from that list, ending his streak at 185 playoff games, nestled between Hall of Famers Karl Malone (193) and John Stockton (182). Jrue Holiday, already a champion with the Bucks, now solidifies his reputation as a pure winner. We’ll look back at his career and wonder how three teams let him go before he became the final piece in Boston, where his selflessness and willingness to defer to younger teammates helped create a team-first atmosphere. He’ll be remembered like Ron Harper or Andre Iguodala, always ready to do whatever it takes to win.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla, once seen as overmatched when the Celtics lost the conference finals to the eighth-seeded Heat, now appears to be a strategist with staying power. His adjustments outmaneuvered Hall of Famer Jason Kidd behind the Mavericks’ bench. At 35, Mazzulla becomes the youngest coach to win a title since Bill Russell did it in 1968. The days of questioning his use of timeouts or substitution patterns are over, and this could mark the beginning of a Pat Riley-like career.
Then there’s Brad Stevens. When he was promoted after a disappointing 2021, many assumed he would jump at the first available coaching opportunity. Instead, he made tough decisions, including trading one of his favorites, point guard Marcus Smart, to bring in Kristaps Porzingis and eventually Jrue Holiday. Coupled with the 2022 deadline acquisition of Derrick White, Stevens demonstrated that he could build a roster as effectively as he could coach one. The Celtics wouldn’t have won this title without the key additions Stevens made to the foundation laid by Danny Ainge.
Staying in the front office, owner Wyc Grousbeck also deserves recognition. Unlike Red Sox owner John Henry, who is retrenching, and Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is focused on his legacy with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, Grousbeck has provided the resources necessary for the Celtics to seize this moment. His leadership has made the Celtics the envy of the NBA.
And then there’s the Big Two. For years, there were doubts about whether Tatum and Brown could coexist, a narrative that persisted even as these Finals began. What they’ve shown is that a championship team doesn’t need a Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen combination; two players like Pippen can suffice. Brown dominated defensively and scored efficiently, while Tatum excelled in facilitating, rebounding, and handling the extra defensive attention throughout the postseason. Tatum is likely to be in future MVP discussions, and Brown won’t be left off another All-NBA team anytime soon.
Their lives have been forever changed. To the storied legacy of the Russell Celtics, the Cowens Celtics, the Bird Celtics, and the Pierce-Garnett-Allen Celtics, we now add the Tatum-and-Brown Celtics. As the rest of the NBA faces the challenge of stopping them, the Celtics should embrace the remaining question:
Can they make this happen again?
