The Celtics knew this season wouldn’t be as smooth as last year’s run—that’s just the reality of being the defending champions. But despite the hurdles, the 2024-25 Celtics still made history, overcoming injuries, stiffer competition, an up-and-down December and January, and the weight of being the team everyone wanted to beat.
“It’s a testament to the guys,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said following Sunday’s regular season finale win over the Charlotte Hornets. “The locker room, their competitive nature, their mentality. The ability to handle good times and the not-so-good times, and the standard that they hold themselves to. It goes back to the duality, right? What we did was great, and now it doesn’t matter because we have to continue the journey.”
With that in mind, let’s take a look back at the first part of the journey and some numbers that tell the story of the 2024-25 Boston Celtics.
61- Wins
Finishing with 61 wins while defending a title is a rare and impressive feat. In fact, the Celtics’ 61 wins are the most by a reigning champion since the Golden State Warriors won 73 in the 2015-16 season.
Of the last 15 NBA champions, only the 2012–13 Heat and the 2015–16 Warriors have reached 60 wins while defending a title—and both made it back to the Finals.
This season marked the first time since the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons that the Celtics have recorded consecutive 60-win seasons. It’s only the fourth time in franchise history that they’ve hit the 60-win mark in back-to-back years (2008-09, 1979–82, and 1983–86).
It's the 15th time the Celtics have reached 60 wins in franchise history. Of the previous 14, seven went on to win it all.
2 - Longest losing streak
For the second consecutive season, the Celtics didn’t lose more than two games in a row. You would have to go back to March of 2023 for the last time they lost three consecutive regular season games.
The Celtics were 19-2 when coming off a loss, which was better than their 14-4 mark a season ago. Sixteen of those 19 wins came by double-digits, with 10 coming by 20+ points and four coming by 30+. The average margin of victory was 21.6, which is a nice segue into the following number.
+9.1 - Scoring differential
The Celtics had 41 wins by double-digits this season, just one shy of their 42 double-digit wins a season ago. They outscored their opponents by 747 points (+9.1 per game), which didn’t quite match their franchise record of +11.3 (+930) from last year, but it still ranks as the fifth-best scoring differential in franchise history, behind only the 2023-24, 2007-08 (+10.2), 1985-86 (+9.4), and 1961-62 (+9.2) teams.
The 2024-25 Celtics joined them as the only squads in Celtics history to finish with a scoring differential of +9.0 or better. All four of those teams went on to win the NBA Finals.
Boston’s +9.1 point-differential is the highest mark by a reigning champion since the 2015-16 Warriors (10.8) and ranks 24th in NBA history.
8 - 30-point wins, tied for the most in the NBA
The Celtics had eight wins by 30+ points this season, tied with the Thunder for the most in the NBA. Two came by 40+ (tied for most in the league), and one by 50+ (also tied for most). They racked up 12 wins by 25 or more points, second only to Oklahoma City, and 20 by 20+ points.
On the flip side, they faced just seven 20-point deficits all year—and never trailed by more than 28.
It’s not relevant to this season, but it’s still wild to think about: Last year, Boston set an NBA record with 17 wins by 25+ points. Their 10 wins by 30+ tied the 1971-72 Bucks for the most in league history. Their three 50-point wins were also an NBA record.
33 - Road wins, tied for the second-most in NBA history
Boston’s 33 road wins tied the 1995-96 Bulls for the second-most in NBA history, trailing only the 2015-16 Warriors (34). Their .805 road winning percentage—also tied with that Bulls team—ranks third all-time, behind only the 2015-16 Warriors (.829) and the 1971-72 Lakers (.816).
Twenty-three of those 33 road wins (69.6%) came by double digits, the second-most in league history behind only the 1971-72 Lakers (24). The Celtics joined the Lakers, the 2015-16 Spurs (20), and this year’s Thunder (22) as the only teams to notch 20+ double-digit road victories. Their +9.4 road scoring differential ranks third all-time, behind the ’72 Lakers (11.3) and the 2024-25 Thunder (10.4).
28 - Different teams defeated
Speaking of Oklahoma City, they were the only team the Celtics didn’t beat this season. It’s the second consecutive year the Celtics took down 28 of 29 teams. Last year, the Denver Nuggets were the one team they didn’t beat.
1,457 - Made threes, an NBA record
After falling just 13 short last season, the Celtics set a new NBA record with 1,457 made three-pointers, surpassing the previous mark of 1,362 set by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and the 2022-23 Warriors. Three of the top five single-season three-point totals in NBA history belong to Joe Mazzulla’s Celtics — with last year’s team ranking third (1,351) and the 2022-23 squad fifth (1,315). The 2018-19 Rockets (1,323) sit fourth.
Derrick White (265), Payton Pritchard (255), and Jayson Tatum (250) became the first trio in NBA history to each make 250 threes in a single season. All three broke the previous Celtics franchise record of 245, set by Isaiah Thomas in 2016-17.
Boston also set a new league record with 17.8 threes made per game, eclipsing the 16.7 mark set by the 2020-21 Utah Jazz. And with that volume came the attempts — 48.2 per game — breaking the previous record of 45.4 held by the Houston Rockets.
The Celtics made 402 more threes than their opponents, holding a +1,206-point advantage on the perimeter. Boston was 54-11 when it made more threes than its opponents.
960 - Turnovers, a franchise record
From a new high to a new low — in a good way. Boston’s 960 turnovers this season set a new franchise record for fewest in a full season.
It’s just the fourth time in franchise history the Celtics have finished a season with fewer than 1,000 turnovers, joining the 2011-12, 2019-20, and 2023-24 squads. The 2011-12 season was shortened to 66 games due to a lockout.
Their 11.9 turnovers per game matched last season’s mark, which already stood as the best in team history.
37 - Wins against sub-.500 teams
For all the talk about lesser teams punching above their weight against the reigning champions, few were successful. The Celtics were 37-8 against teams with a losing record. Their 37 wins tied for the most in the NBA with the Thunder.
119.5 - Offensive rating
Despite using 33 different starting lineups—seven more than last season—and getting just 24 games from their full starting five (13 fewer than a year ago), the Celtics still finished with the second-best offensive rating in the NBA at 120.6, trailing only Cleveland (121.0). It also stands as the second-best mark in franchise history, behind last season’s 122.2.
Their offensive versatility stood out in the numbers. Boston ranked in the top five in total points in several scoring categories: isolation (4th), post-ups (3rd), spot-ups (5th), catch-and-shoot (3rd), and pull-ups (3rd).
Jayson Tatum (26.8), Jaylen Brown (22.2), and Kristaps Porzingis (19.5) came just shy of becoming the first Celtics trio to each average 20+ points in back-to-back seasons. Last year, they became only the third trio in franchise history to hit that mark for a single season, joining Hall of Famers John Havlicek, Bailey Howell, and Sam Jones (1966-67) and the 2019-20 trio of Tatum, Brown, and Kemba Walker.
110.1 - Defensive rating
For the first time in the Joe Mazzulla era, the Celtics finished outside the top two in defensive rating, dropping to fourth — still nothing to scoff at.
Despite some inconsistencies, Boston held opponents to just 107.2 points per game, the second-lowest mark in the league. Opponents shot 45.0% from the field (second-worst) and 34.7% from three (third-worst) against the Celtics. They held their opponents under 100 points 15 times and finished fifth in the NBA in blocks.
13-11 - Record between December 7 and January 27
Ah, back when folks thought the sky was falling. If we’re telling the story of the 2024-25 Celtics’ regular season, we can’t omit the up-and-down December and January, in which they went 13-11 over a span of 51 days.
But a 29-6 finish quickly washed that memory away. The Celtics expected a stretch like that — no team is immune to it — and the way they closed the season was the perfect response. That skid may have cost them the No. 1 seed in the East, though, with Cleveland finishing just three games ahead.
+4.2 - Net rating for the reserves
The bench production has been a key factor in the Celtics’ success this season. Payton Pritchard is a runaway favorite for Sixth Man of the Year, finishing the season leading all reserves in points (1,079), three-pointers (246), and plus-minus (+428). He also ranked third in assists (257) and second in rebounds by a guard off the bench (371).
Meanwhile, Sam Hauser knocked down 166 threes of his own, once again shooting over 40% from three, a mark he has never missed in the pros, college, or high school.
Then there’s Luke Kornet, who posted a remarkable 15.2 net rating, the third-highest in the entire NBA behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (16.7) and Isaiah Joe (15.8).
The growth of the bench, particularly Pritchard and Kornet, has been tremendous for this Celtics team, whose bench outscored its opponents by 236 points.
68.6% - Clutch win percentage
This season, the Celtics were 24-11 in the clutch (the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points). Their 68.6% win percentage led the NBA.
In those situations, the Celtics shot 48% from the field (third-best) and 37.9% from three (sixth-best).
1 - Loss when recording 30+ assists
The Celtics finished the season 23-1 when recording at least 30 assists. Under Joe Mazzulla, they are 62-5 when reaching that number.
When they record 25+, they are 42-5. That number is 135-30 in the Mazzulla era.
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