The Celtics were going to take a step back from being title contenders regardless of what happened this offseason. Losing Jayson Tatum, who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, was always going to make it tough for the C’s to compete for a championship during the 2025-26 NBA season.
But after the Celtics’ extensive offseason moves, their title odds have plummeted compared to the start of the summer. Per BetMGM odds, as outlined by Yahoo!, the Celtics’ opening odds to win the NBA championship of 16-1 have gone all the way down to 40-1 currently.
Those longer odds are no surprise considering what the Celtics have done this offseason. Boston was expected to cut costs as that’s exactly what the front office did over the past few weeks. The offseason started with trading Jrue Holiday to the Blazers and Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks as part of a three-team deal.
In those deals, the Celtics landed Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang. While both players can shoot, it’s still a step back from two starters in Holiday and Porzingis. The Celtics also added some rookies through the 2025 NBA Draft in the form of Hugo Gonzalez, Amari Williams and Max Shulga. But those guys aren’t really going to swing the Celtics’ title odds in any significant way as later draft picks.
The C’s are also still in the middle of free agency, meaning further moves and trades could be on the horizon. They did sign a pair of former Timberwolves players in big man Luka Garza and wing Josh Minott. But those two are also a pair of relatively minor moves as depth adds.
Notably, the Celtics already lost Luke Kornet to the Spurs as the big man got a significant pay raise and a four-year contract. Al Horford is also expected to depart this summer, though it’s unclear where he will end up at this point. Boston’s big man depth is the major question mark as it only has Garza, Xavier Tillman and Neemias Queta on the roster currently.
So, all in all, the Celtics have lost three total rotation players from last year’s team in Holiday, Porzingis and Kornet. Horford also looks like he’s on the way out. The C’s added plenty of new faces between the rookies, Simons, Niang, Garza and Minott. The roster is going to look significantly different come training camp.
If there is some optimism, the Celtics still have a strong core of Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser. They’re all talented players who are signed beyond the 2025-26 season. But without Tatum, the Celtics will likely have a tough time winning games compared to the past few years.
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