I'm not going to pretend that it's all fine and good that the Boston Celtics lost in the first round in the playoffs this year (as the No. 2 seed... against the Philadelphia 76ers... after taking a 3-1 series lead), but this season was still a major win, and fans need to remember that.
Let's go back in time for a bit to May 12, 2025. Jayson Tatum just tore his Achilles, the Celtics are down 3-1 to the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs (and even if they find a way to pull off the comeback, there was no chance they would beat the Indiana Pacers or Oklahoma City Thunder in the following two rounds), we know a big fire sale is coming as the team is looking to get under the second apron, and we don't know what the future is going to look like.
If there were 10 possible ways for this to turn out (with Scenario No. 1 being the absolute worst-case scenario and each step up getting gradually better), I think we're living in Scenario No. 8 or 9. Almost everything that could have gone well for Boston did this season (minus its disappointing first-round collapse against the Philadelphia 76ers in the playoffs), and that should be the main takeaway.
The 2025-26 season was (mostly) a success for the Celtics
The Celtics had so many questions they needed to answer this season. And for the most part, they got the exact answers they were looking for:
1) Yes, Joe Mazzulla is an elite coach and didn't just inherit a talented roster, 2) Jaylen Brown is a legitimate star and can be trusted to lead a contender, 3) Tatum is going to be just fine and looks just as good as he did before the injury, and 4) Neemias Queta will not only step up following the departures of Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet, and Al Horford, but he might be the center of the future.
Boston ended the regular season as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 56-26 record (only a five-game drop-off from the prior season) and looked like a legitimate title contender for the majority of the season.
Even the greenest teamers didn't expect the Celtics to have a season like this this year. And even if it ended in such disappointing fashion, the team and the fans should be happy about what they showed this year and optimistic about what the future holds.
Add us as a preferred source on Google