Fantasy Basketball Exit Interview: Celtics’ playoffs dreams quickly vanished, are changes on the way?

The Boston Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead to the Philadelphia 76ers and lost Game 7 at TD Garden. At home. To a seven seed. For a franchise built on banners, this collapse was a rare low point, especially since they’ve beaten the Sixers in every playoff series since 1982.

Jayson Tatum didn’t play in the season-ending loss because of a knee injury, but this outcome was less about his absence and more about the Celtics not having the roster equipped for a deep postseason run. In fantasy, the Celtics remain one of the better franchises, with five players ranking in the top 100 across points in category leagues. Let’s recap Boston’s season and peek into what’s ahead.

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Jaylen Brown was ready

Jaylen Brown rightfully emerged as Boston’s rock, earning All-Star, All-NBA and MVP attention while carrying the team through most of the season without his co-pilot, Tatum. Brown flew past his third-round ADP in High Score, finishing 9th in per-game value, averaging 50 fantasy points per game. In 9-cat, he was dinged for giving the ball away 3.6 times per game, but he would’ve been a top-30 player if punting turnovers. It was a career year for JB after posting 29-7-5 with 48/34/80 shooting splits. He’s well worth a third-round pick next year, too.

Tatum defied the odds and became a league winner

Tatum was the second-most rostered player on the top-500 public Yahoo teams after returning for the final month of the NBA season. Not only did he play over 30 minutes a night, but he was effective in those minutes, averaging 22 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists across 16 games. There was considerable rust on his jump shot, as he connected on just 41% of his FG attempts and 33% of his 3s.  Still, the fantasy managers who scooped him up before his return legitimately got a league-winner. Tatum performed at a second-round value in High Score and 9-cat formats.

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Though Tatum missed Game 7 with a knee injury, having a full offseason to strengthen his legs and work on his shooting stroke will be great for his long-term outlook. I’d feel comfortable selecting him as a first- or early-second-round pick next…

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Author : Dan Titus

Publish date : 2026-05-03 23:08:00

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