The Celtics don’t have their best player in Jayson Tatum, but they’ve still been one of the top teams in the East to open the season. The C’s are riding high on a five-game winning streak to boost their record to 15-9, good for third in the conference.
Boston continues to unearth productive NBA players even though it significantly changed last year’s roster. As a result, the Celtics front office was ranked second in the NBA in a recent front office executive survey by The Athletic. A total of 36 front office members were asked for their rankings. Only Oklahoma City’s front office, the 2025 NBA champs, was ranked above the Celtics.
The Thunder ran away in the rankings, which is no surprise. They have the reigning MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on a roster loaded with young talent. Plus, they have droves of future draft picks to keep them rolling.
But the Celtics have impressed this season in other ways. Tatum continues to rehab his Achilles after the devastating injury ended his playoffs last year. But in the meantime, Jaylen Brown has stepped up as a stellar first option. The C’s had a slow start after going 0-3, but they’re 10-2 over their last 12 games.
More importantly, the Celtics seem to keep unexpectedly finding rotation players. Jordan Walsh, Josh Minott, Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez have all contributed in some shape or form to open the season. Considering they’re mostly all young and cheap, it’s a nod to the front office landing these guys. Neemias Queta is also having his own breakout season as a starting big man.
The Celtics also still have all their future draft capital going forward. They built the 2024 NBA champs by being savvy with their moves, loading up on talent with guys like Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday via trade. Then they also had successful rotation players like Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet developing behind the scenes. That all paired with the one-two punch of Tatum and Brown leading the way.
With the Celtics already buzzing and making noise in December, how the organization operates going forward is the big question mark. Tatum’s return is still uncertain, though every new workout video has fans excited about his comeback. But for now, the front office looks like they’ve found guys for both the present and future.