With the departures of Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Luke Kornet, and (eventually) Al Horford — combined with the absence of a rehabbing Jayson Tatum to start the season — the Boston Celtics are without a group that combined to start 234 games last season and 474 games over the past two seasons.

The Celtics’ starting five on opening night of the 2025-26 season will feature at least three new players. Will some familiar faces slide into those spots? For the 16th installment of our Ramp to Camp series — and kicking off “Predictions Week” — we asked our panel to predict the opening night starting five for the Celtics.

Our five: Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, and Neemias Queta.

We’re basically trotting out the remaining core of the 2024 title team and leaning heavily into both their familiarity and skill. It’s one of the few groupings that we have some actual data on from past seasons. 

Our starting five has played 67 minutes together over the past two seasons with a +9.6 net rating. That includes a sizzling 144 offensive rating, per PBPstats tracking. That group shot 41 percent on 3-point attempts with a 68.7 true shooting percentage.

The bad news: That five-man unit was pretty rough on defense, giving up 168 points in 125 defended possessions. Opponents shot 41.5 percent on 3s with a 62.2 true shooting percentage.

It’s hard to pluck too much from that sample, especially when you consider their 67 minutes together was over the course of 18 games. This five never played more than nine minutes together in a game.

We have obvious concerns about rebounding with this lineup. It’s rather undersized and puts a lot of pressure on Queta to control the glass (though we’ve often joked that Pritchard might lead the team in total rebounds with his penchant for chasing down offensive caroms).

We like the idea of putting as much shooting as possible around Brown to start games, then letting newcomer Anfernee Simons get ample touches with reserve pairings. If Pritchard elevates to a starting role, the Celtics do need someone who can be the glue for a younger second unit, and it will be intriguing to see who earns Joe Mazzulla’s trust in that bench group. 

Maybe you need to slide Pritchard or Hauser to bench role at some point to best balance the rotation. Maybe the Celtics need to go bigger and add size at the starting power forward spot. But to start the season, this group is getting the first crack and Mazzulla can tinker from there. 

Training camp reps will be vital to figuring out exactly which players accentuate each other’s talents.

Let’s see what our panel came up with for starting fives:

Darren Hartwell, Managing Editor

Derrick White, Anfernee Simons, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta.

This was a harder exercise than I expected. In the backcourt, I’m choosing not to mess with a good thing and let Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard be a super-sub, while White can help offset any of Simons’ defensive limitations. You could make the argument for going double-big with Chris Boucher and Queta, but Hauser’s experience earns him the nod as a stretch four for now.

Michael Hurley, Web Producer

I guess I’d go with Derrick White, Anfernee Simons, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser and Neemias Queta? 

Like many, I’m still not entirely convinced Simons will be in Boston to start the season, but I still like the idea of Payton Pritchard coming off the bench, even if he sees a big bump in minutes.

I’ve had some fairly high expectations for the team in terms of finishing with a winning record and winning a playoff series. But now that you’ve made me spell out the starting five like this, I’m tempted to adjust ever so slightly. Brown is going to have to do so much heavy lifting.

Josh Canu, Media Editor

Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Jaylen Brown, Neemias Queta.

This seems like the obvious choice with the way this team is constructed. Five carry-over players who Joe Mazzulla will trust and we know all can play together. An undersized lineup for sure, but I think we will have to get used to that this season.

Kevin Miller, VP, Content

Payton Pritchard, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Chris Boucher, Neemias Queta.

A focus on shooting with this lineup. Queta needs to be an aggressive offensive rebounder, while Brown needs to be an aggressive defensive rebounder.

Adam Hart, EP, Content Strategy

Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Chris Boucher, Neemias Queta.

I like the idea of Anfernee Simons leading the second unit and spreading the offensive firepower, versus packing that starting five.

Kayla Burton, Celtics Pregame Live host

Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Sam Hauser, Anfernee Simons, Neemias Queta. 

I struggled coming up with a starting five because I want to throw Payton Pritchard in there, but I think he is such a spark off the bench and thrives in that role. They also need bigger guys out there as a physical presence in the frontcourt.

Joe Mazzulla may play with the lineup early in the season to figure out his puzzle.