Boston Celtics: Building a Roster for Long-term Success

Pre-season

Last season

The 18th championship banner was secured when the Celtics executed a start-to-finish stretch of domination. This was made possible by the growth of coach Joe Mazzulla, the missing-piece addition of Jrue Holiday, another tremendous first-team All-NBA season by Jayson Tatum, and a strong postseason from Jaylen Brown.

In all, the contributions came from top-to-bottom in the organization — the Celtics’ ownership made Brown the highest-paid player in NBA history the previous summer and general manager Brad Stevens swung the Holiday deal, snookering other contending teams and weakening them in the process.

Summer summary

How do you improve upon 64 wins and a title? No question, even championship teams taking themselves for granted can fall behind. The NBA is too competitive for even the best teams to stand still as everyone wants what the Celtics are eating.

That said, this team is built to last — credit Stevens and former GM Danny Ainge for that — so the Celtics’ main task this summer was keeping the continuity. And that meant shelling out even more money and coping with the luxury tax. Tatum and Derrick White in particular cashed in with massive extensions.

Spotlight on

Al Horford has been a tremendous basketball soldier for the Celtics in his two tours of duty. He’s one of the beloved Celtics of the last half-dozen years. That said, he’ll turn 39 this season. If he starts to decline, the Celtics could be vulnerable in the paint, especially if Kristaps Porzingis has more injury issues and Xavier Tillman is not ready for prime-time minutes.

How far can the Celtics go?

Back-to-back titles? Even this storied franchise hasn’t done that since 1968-69. There’s so much that factors negatively into repeating, including poor luck, lack of roster growth and what Pat Riley once described as “the disease of me” in which championship players turn me-first.

Tatum and White got paid, so money isn’t the root of any potential evil here. And the championship core — strong starting five plus depth — remains imposing. Therefore, let’s introduce your 2024-25 favorites.

Boston is bullish on everyone else. Assuming good health, the 2025 championship will likely go through Boston, one way or another.

Up next: New York Knicks

30 Teams in 30 Days: Complete schedule

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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

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