One year ago Wednesday, the sale of the Boston Celtics to the investor group led by Bill Chisholm was finalized.
As part of the 24th annual WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, presented by Arbella Insurance (donate online here), Chisholm joined The Greg Hill Show on WEEI to reflect on his first year as the Celtics’ owner (full interview below).
“It’s been a crazy year for me and my family. It’s a good chance to reflect and be grateful for where we are. I’ve been literally living the dream. 18 months ago I was in my driveway doing pregame pump-up videos in front of our old basketball hoop in front of my family, and here we are. It’s been an amazing experience and has certainly exceeded expectations. Just a lot of joy for our family and friends; that’s been great,” Chisholm said.
“But it’s been hard, too. This summer was some really tough decisions, ones that kind of broke my heart personally. I expected it to be hard. I expected there to be some hard decisions. I didn’t necessarily think it would happen quite so quickly and with such magnitude. But, yeah, just a crazy year and I’m so grateful to have had this year, and I’m looking forward to a lot more.”
Of course, the tough decision Chisholm is referring to was the blockbuster trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks.
Brown was selected with the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and spent 10 seasons in Boston, developing into one of the most accomplished players in franchise history. During his tenure, he earned five All-Star selections and two All-NBA honors. Most notably, he was named both Eastern Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP while helping lead the Celtics to Banner 18 in 2024.
The 29-year-old leaves Boston ranked 10th in franchise history with 13,474 regular-season points and seventh in playoff scoring. His 674 regular-season games played are the 15th-most in franchise history, while his 142 postseason appearances rank seventh.
It’s a trade Chisholm, who grew up a die-hard Celtics fan in Georgetown, Massachusetts, had to be convinced to make by the basketball operations team led by Brad Stevens.
“I truly believe we have the best front office in the NBA, and I think it’s a source of advantage for us every day. So I definitely have a level of trust in Brad and his team. But man, as a fan, that was tough. I really needed to be convinced to take the fan passion out of it, because I’m a super fan; it was tough,” he said.
“I think you have to be a sociopath if you don’t worry a little bit about what other fans are going to think. So to put all of that to the side and just do the job. I stepped back and realized I have a responsibility to protect and advance the legacy of the Celtics. We’ve got the best brains in basketball, and this was something they had conviction around. I needed to be convinced, and that’s my job, but they did convince me, and we did it, and we did it with conviction. We’ll see where it goes, but we feel good about it.”
There has been plenty of discussion about Chisholm’s spending since he took over as owner. The Celtics saved more than $350 million as part of last year’s roster teardown, which was done in an effort to get out of the NBA’s dreaded second apron. This offseason, they also traded Brown and his massive contract, further raising questions about the team’s willingness to spend to contend.
Chisholm, though, remains adamant that the team is willing to do whatever it takes to win.
“We’re not playing for second. We’re playing to win and to raise banners. Someone joked and was calling me in the beginning 'Billy Banners' because I said that, and I want to earn that, and I haven’t yet,” he said. “I think we have the ingredients to do it, and certainly the commitment. We have the fans, and the organization has the commitment from me. We’ll do whatever it takes. I’m desperate to win.”
