Bill Chisholm opens up on what the process of buying the Boston Celtics was like

How does one get involved in a sale to buy an NBA team? New Boston Celtics owner Bill Chisholm told the tale of how he ended up the majority owner of the Celtics in a recent guest appearance on the “White Noise” podcast of Boston guard Derrick White and cohost Alex Welsh. And it seems not to hurt if you have well-connected friends from yours days in college.

Pointing out that a lot of what led him to where he is now in terms of Celtics ownership being good luck as well, Chisholm relating that ‘the guy the banker who was selling it was actually a teammate of mine from college for soccer.”

“So I called him and I was like, ‘Hey, I’d love to take a look here. I’m sure it’ll get out of control, and I’ll not be able to win here, but let me throw my hat in the ring,” added Chisholm.

Sep 25, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics lead owner and governor Bill Chisholm speaks during a press conference at Auerbach Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images

“And he’s like, ‘Yeah, sure — whatever,” he recalled. “We’ll send you the book, which is the memo that outlines the deal, and then it was like life— you just take just little steps … Think big, and just take the little steps, step after step, after step, after step, and then you get into it.”

“You’re like, ‘Actually, this might actually work’. You don’t get too far ahead of yourselves, and you keep working. They go through multiple steps and the like. They ask you for a bid, and then they narrow the field, and then they ask you another bid, and they narrow it again. By the time January (came), I was like, ‘Wow, like actually, it’s me, and and (former Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca), and one other guy’, and that was it.”

“And I was like, ‘This could actually happen.’ So then … I tried not to be too invested, emotionally invested in it,” explained Chisholm. “And at that point I was like, ‘Oh — it’s going to kill me. This is going to kill me. This is going to kill me if it doesn’t happen’. So, I went for it.”

Listen to “Havlicek Stole the Pod” on:

Spotify: https://tiny.ee/CdKp

iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47

YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3

This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Bill Chisholm opens up on what the process of buying Celtics was like