CHARLESTON — Celebrity sightings are fairly common in the city these days, but an entire professional basketball team is pretty rare given it’s more than 200 miles to the nearest NBA franchise.
But it’s not the city’s pro facilities, rather a college’s courts that are drawing so many basketball teams here, including the Boston Celtics.
For the first time in nearly 10 years, the NBA team is taking their preseason training camp on the road and that includes a stop at The Citadel in Charleston.
The Celtics arrived via plane in Charleston the afternoon of Oct. 3, the team posted on Facebook, and began camp at The Citadel’s McAlister Field House on Sunday morning.
One of The Citadel’s major draws is that it can support three full-length basketball courts under the same roof, and it’s what brought the Charlotte Hornets to the same spot at the end of September.
For the second straight year, the North Carolina team came to the Lowcountry to open their preseason training camp at McAlister Field House.
Besides the Hornets and Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers (2022) and the New York Knicks (2023, 2024) have practiced at The Citadel in preparation for the regular season.
Charlotte Hornets’ Kon Knueppel (7) and Grayson Allen (8) sit on the bench after practice at The Citadel’s McAlister Field House, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in Charleston.
File/Gavin McIntyre/Staff
For the Celtics’ turn, their three-day training camp in Charleston serves as a continuation of their preseason workouts that began in Boston on Sept. 29. The team traditionally practices at the Auerbach Center, the official 70,000-square-foot practice facility and team headquarters in Massachusetts.
At a Sept. 28 media day event, Sports Illustrated reported that head coach Joe Mazzulla spoke about the challenges this season of trying to mesh a team that’s a mix of old and new players, young and seasoned, and how each player plays a part in the dynamic.
He mentioned that it’s been 10 years since the team took training camp on the road and it was time to revisit the idea to change things up.
“A bunch of new guys… really kind of wanted to take a step back, get away, spend time with each other in a different environment,” he told reporters. “It’s always good to shake it up a little bit. I think this is my fifth training camp, and the first four were here, and so we’re just looking to do something a little different.”
Part of that shake-up includes an intentional look at the Lowcountry military college and how it runs.
“I really enjoy military leadership,” Mazzulla said. “I learn from it a lot. I think it’s important. So any chance that we get to do it, we’ll try it. Talk to their people there and emphasis on team building. Even if it’s not the players, the coaches will try to do that. Military leadership is my favorite.”
The Celtics will culminate their training in Charleston on Oct. 6.