The Celtics finally won Banner 18 this summer when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in five games. Boston had a stacked roster that included Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Al Horford — all of whom will return in the 2024-25 season.
Even with Porzingis missing much of the playoffs and missed two games in the Finals, the Celtics were deep enough and talented enough to make it difficult on any opponent. And now that Boston is poised to make another deep run, Tatum is ready to repeat as champions.
“We had a hell of a team last year. They were so fun to be a part of that journey that we had, how we kind of dominated in the regular season and went 16-3 in the playoffs,” Tatum told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Ethan Erickson. “It looked like it was easy, but it wasn’t. It was hard. It’s exciting to be able to run it back. We have the same team coming back. We’re even more motivated to win another one so let’s see what we can do.”
Repeating as champions is never easy, and teams like the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers made moves this offseason to help bolster their teams and compete with the Celtics. But Boston goes into the 2024-25 campaign with the same chemistry as last year and know they can all work together to reach the ultimate goal.
The quest for Banner 19 begins on Oct. 22 when the Celtics welcome the Knicks to TD Garden. Boston will receive its championship rings and raise the banner to the rafters that night, too.
