The Celtics are well aware of the challenge ahead of them.
Since 2000, there have only been four repeat champions. The last team to do it was the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. Since then, six different teams have claimed the title, and none of the previous five champions have made it past the second round.
It’s been over half a century since the Celtics went back-to-back. You’d have to go all the way back to the Bill Russell and Red Auerbach-led Celtics, who pulled it off multiple times—including eight straight championships from 1959–66 and two more in 1968 and 1969, before Russell retired that summer.
“It’s something that we’re aware of,” Al Horford said at practice earlier this week. “But for us, it’s understanding the opportunity we have in front of us. We have a really good team and a team that’s resilient. We’re all very driven right now, and we all understand what the goal is. When you have the clarity, it makes everything easier.”
Despite an extended stretch of .500 play from December into January, the Celtics put together one of the best title defense seasons in recent history. They joined the 2012–13 Heat and 2015–16 Warriors as the only defending champs to win 60 games over the last 15 years. They’re just the fifth team this century to win at least 60 games in a title defense season—of those teams, only the 2012–13 Heat managed to raise the Larry O’Brien Trophy again.
Repeating as a champion in today’s NBA is a rare and remarkable feat, and the Celtics will need their full arsenal to do it, which appears to be the situation they are in heading into the postseason.
Jaylen Brown, who has been dealing with a right knee injury, is the lone Celtic to monitor. He went through practices this week without limitations, and after practice on Saturday, he confirmed that he will not be on any minutes restriction for the postseason.
“He looks good,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He was able to do everything with no limitations. He’s been great, physically and mentally, really preparing himself, ready to go. So, love the week that he had.”
The 2024 Eastern Conference and NBA Finals MVP hasn’t played more than 30 minutes in a game since March 12 against the Thunder. Brown missed nine games down the stretch, including eight of Boston’s final 16 regular-season contests. He received injections on his injured knee last weekend, though he wouldn’t comment on those injections intended to “promote recovery.”
“I’m not here to talk about my knee, guys,” Brown said in his first media availability in two weeks on Saturday. “It is what it is, and I’m focused on Orlando.”
While Brown didn’t get into specifics, the testimony from his teammates throughout the week has been positive.
“He’s one of the best players in the game, so it’s always great having him,” Derrick White said. “He looks good, he’s feeling good, and we know what starts tomorrow.”
Brown was one of the last players off the practice floor at the Auerbach Center on Saturday afternoon, working with a handful of assistant coaches. He says he’s been pleased with the plan to get him ready for the playoffs.
“I think it was great,” he said. “I appreciate Joe and the training staff. We had a good game plan as we were kind of filling it out. I know my body pretty well. But the decisions that were made, I felt like were best. I think I’m going to use some of that stuff in my back pocket as we go forward. But that was a good test for me.”
As Brown and the Celtics kick off their quest to repeat as champions against the Orlando Magic on Sunday afternoon, they aren’t thinking about the history they could make. Instead, they’re focused on the task at hand.
“Of course, we know what we’re trying to accomplish, but I think our mindset is just what’s in front of us, not looking down the line, not overlooking nobody,” Brown said. “Our goal is [Game 1]. That’s the focus. Nothing else. Not next week, not six weeks, not 10 years from now. Just Sunday.”
