Experience is crucial in every aspect of life. It offers valuable insights, helps to steer clear of past mistakes, bolsters confidence, and prepares individuals to thrive under pressure. This rings especially true in high-stakes scenarios like the NBA Finals.
When the Boston Celtics faced off against the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 Finals, the discrepancy in experience under those bright lights was evident. Golden State had been there before, with their core competing in their sixth NBA Finals in eight years, totaling a combined 123 NBA Finals games.
In contrast, the Celtics, led by 24-year-old Jayson Tatum and 25-year-old Jaylen Brown, had no prior Finals experience on their roster. At the time, it marked just the third Finals in NBA history in which one team had 100-plus games of experience while the other had zero, a statistical rarity not seen since 1997.
In sports, there’s a popular theory that a team needs to reach the mountaintop and fail before gaining the experience required to win a championship. The Celtics have tasted that disappointment. Having been there once before, they are better equipped to handle the biggest stage and everything that comes with it, relying on past experiences to guide them.
“I think it is gonna help tremendously,” veteran big man Al Horford said on having past experience.
“The first time, it felt like a roller coaster. Just a lot going on: the increased coverage of media, all the responsibilities that we had, and just everything that came with it. So I just think that this time around, we all have an understanding. We know what things are like, and I feel like we’ll be able to manage everything better.”
Seven players who were part of the 2021-22 Celtics team that made it to the NBA Finals remain on the current roster: Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Luke Kornet. Having weathered the highs and lows of championship runs, they bring invaluable experience, maturity, and a deep understanding of what it takes to compete at the highest level to the team.
“There’s a lot that myself, and we, can learn from that experience in the Finals,” Tatum said.
“This go around is a lot different. Obviously, we’ve been there before and came up short. Great opportunity to make it to the Finals again. You don’t always get a second chance, so really just looking at it as a second chance, trying to simplify it as much as we can. It’s another series that we gotta win.”
In addition to the returning players who know the sting of defeat, the Celtics have brought in Jrue Holiday, a player who has reached the top of basketball. Holiday, who won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks just three years ago, brings invaluable insights to the team. It’s worth noting that since 2000, only three teams have won the Finals without a prior champion on their roster, underscoring Holiday’s importance in the Celtics’ quest for success. His firsthand experience of reaching the NBA pinnacle adds a crucial dimension to the team’s aspirations.
“It takes everything. I’ve literally said it takes everything. I think it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Mentally, physically, you’re exhausted,” Holiday said.
“Teams know each other so well that, at this point, it’s kind of about making plays. It’s about executing, but for me, I think the biggest thing was just how exhausted you were, how exhausted I was because I left everything out there. And again, we were down 0-2, and I think even having the feeling and encouragement of like ‘it’s not over,’ but I think it’s because my team had the mentality of it’s not over until we say it’s over. So I think being able to go out there and fight and leave everything out on the court, we have the best chance of doing it that way.”
There is no question the Celtics have the talent required to win a championship. Across their 96 regular and postseason games, Boston has outscored its opponents by 1.071 points – the fourth-highest mark in league history, trailing just the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks (+1,208), the 1996 Chicago Bulls (+1,194), and the 2017 Golden State Warriors (+1,184). Only five teams in the history of the league have outscored their opponents by over 1,000 points, and all five have gone on to win the championship.
However, as Holiday alluded to, talent alone isn’t enough on the grand stage. It takes consistent grit, focus, mental toughness, determination, discipline, and resilience — all traits the Celtics have been building since day one, applying lessons from past experiences.
“We’ve established consistency and hard work, and we’ve tried to embody what being a Celtic is about. From the beginning of camp and from before camp, even in September, when we were doing voluntary workouts here, we were just consistent. Everybody’s coming in here, everybody’s working, we’re all getting together. What do we want our legacy to be? I think it has to be a consistent, hardworking team. We’re playing for each other; we have really enjoyed being in this space, and I feel like that’s what we’re about.”
It’s all there for the taking for Boston. The time is now, and they need to make the most of it by relying on their experience and the good habits they have been building.
“When you have a group of guys, veteran guys, some have been here for a long time, some have been around the league for a long time, we just have to use each guy’s experience,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said.
“The majority of people in the room are able to pull from that, but we have a bunch of different guys, different players and coaches that have been in different atmospheres. So, just relying on each guy’s experience and each guy’s expertise and each guy’s, kind of, what they’ve been through and trying to use it for us to kind of execute together.”
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