Celtics offseason outlook: A title is still the goal, but that could be tough sledding

If an NBA season was a theme park, the Boston Celtics’ 2025-26 would be its roller coaster.

As they entered the season, some pundits — myself included — wondered aloud if it’d be better to tank in hopes of securing a high draft pick for next season, when presumably Jayson Tatum would be back from an Achilles tear.

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(We’ll get back to Tatum shortly.)

Instead, the Celtics flourished under Jaylen Brown, remaining thoroughly in the playoff picture and looking like a team no one in the East wanted to play.

Then they traded a chunk of their team at the trade deadline to get under the luxury tax limit, which seemingly went against their success.

Jayson Tatum missing Game 7 was a crucial blow to the Celtics.

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

On the heels of, well, getting worse in order to save money, Tatum was surprisingly ready to return ahead of schedule. It seemed Boston perhaps found a way to both save money and get better.

Well, uh, about that …

The second-seeded Celtics then lost in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers, a team they’ve been so used to taking behind the wood shed. Boston is now left looking for answers for next season.

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(Yes, Celtics fans. You can exhale now. Lord knows we all need to.)

What’s next?

Let’s get into it.

2025-26 finish

Record: 56-26, second in the Eastern Conference. Eliminated in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games.

Highlight of the season

Jaylen Brown won’t like this, given how much he did for the Celtics all year, but the highlight is the return of Tatum, and it’s not even remotely close. No one knew what type of condition he’d be in. Whether he’d have physical issues or a slow ramp-up. But he came in, and immediately proved to be very much the same player. That’s huge.

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In 16 regular-season games, Tatum averaged 21.8 points, 10 rebounds and 5.3 assists. Sure, it was disappointing he missed Game 7 with knee stiffness, but in his six playoff games he posted 23.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He’s going to be just fine next year.

Players signed for next season

Jayson Tatum

Jaylen Brown

Derrick White

Sam Hauser

Payton…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/celtics-offseason-outlook-a-title-is-still-the-goal-but-that-could-be-tough-sledding-214921116.html

Author : Morten Stig Jensen

Publish date : 2026-05-05 21:49:00

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