“WE DID IT!!!” - Jayson Tatum

After 16 years, the Boston Celtics are champions once again. Since the formation of Boston’s current core featuring Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown back in 2017, the Celtics have been perennial contenders. But no matter what they did, the team just came up short every season - last year, they were infamously upset by the #8-seeded Miami Heat in the 1st round.

Enter: the 2023 offseason. Boston was extremely aggressive seeking upgrades to the roster. Instead of searching the bottom of the barrel for complementary pieces, lead-decision-maker Brad Stevens struck two homerun deals in the form of Jrue Holiday (from Milwaukee) and Kristaps Porzingis (from Washington). Just like that, the C’s had a lineup with 5 players (Tatum, Brown, Holiday, Al Horford, Porzingis) who had played in an All-Star game.

The Celtics absolutely rolled through the 2023-24 season, winning 64 games w/ a double-digit point differential. Despite the team’s dominance, Boston wasn’t a consensus pick to win the title before the postseason started. But round after round, Boston dispatched their opponent with ease. But then, the “excuses” continued: “The Heat didn’t have Jimmy Butler.” • “Cleveland was too inexperienced & didn’t have Jarrett Allen.” • “Tyrese Haliburton was hurt in the ECF.”

Not only did Porzingis miss the majority of the season, Boston’s overall shift in mindset ultimately determined their fate. Unlike recent years, the C’s had zero interest in “playing with their food” - the injured/overmatched teams they faced were left in a wake of inferiority.

Simply put, Boston just felt like the best team in the league all season or not. Given their path too the Finals, soomene they can’t control by thw way, I still believe Boston would’ve evetually beaten every sngle oopponent.

A special shoutout has to go to Coach Joe Mazzulla and Boston’s key vets, Horford (champ after 17 seasons!), Holiday, and Derrick White. Jayson & Jaylen aka “The Jays” carried their usual, heavy load but always got incredible contributions from the rest of the lineup. Brown and Tatum are forever validated as a duo - there’s just something about a star, wing tandem winning a title: it’s a pretty rare feat but through it all, “The Jays” finally struck gold. Brown, in particular, showed out all playoffs long, culminating in a well-deserved Finals MVP trophy. He, along with JT, will be in the rafters of the Boston Garden someday.

Boston is set up to win for the foreseeable future. It's aa little reminiscent of the Warriors winning back in their heyday. Sure, it took Boston’s core guys (Tatum & Brown) a little longer to breakthrough, and the role players are on older side, but you have to figure the window is open for at least a few more seasons.

Holiday is the perfect connector, D. White is a two-way monster, and up-and-comers Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard and Jordan Walsh round out an emerging second unit.

The Celtics have a right to celebrate for a few reasons. The new all-time leader in NBA championships (18!), everything’s coming up green in Boston.

2023-24 BOSTON CELTICS

FINAL ROSTER 🏆

JAYSON TATUM • DIFFERENT BREED, NBA CHAMPION, GOLD MEDALIST, 4x All-NBA, 5x All-Star

JAYLEN BROWN • TOP DOG, NBA CHAMPION, FINALS MVP, 3x All-Star

JRUE HOLIDAY • HYBRID, 2x NBA CHAMPION, GOLD MEDALIST, 2x All-Star

DERRICK WHITE • STAR UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION

AL HORFORD • HYBRID, NCAA CHAMPION, ! NBA CHAMPION, 5x All-Star

KRISTAPS PORZINGIS • TOP DOG, NBA CHAMPION, ALL-STAR

PAYTON PRITCHARD • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION

SAM HAUSER • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION

OSHAE BRISSETT • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION

XAVIER TILLMAN SR. • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION

LUKE KORNET • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION

JADEN SPRINGER • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION

SVI MYKHAILIUK • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION

NEEMIAS QUETA • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION

JORDAN WALSH • ROOK, NBA CHAMPION

JD DAVISON • 2WAY ROOK, NBA CHAMPION

DREW PETERSON • 2WAY ROOK, NBA CHAMPION