Monday marked the start of a new chapter for the Boston Celtics.
After an offseason of seismic change, the new-look Celtics gathered for media day ahead of their first training camp practice Tuesday.
There was no shortage of storylines.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the day.
The Celtics are fully healthy entering camp
One of the major storylines for the Celtics this season will be their health, specifically that of Jayson Tatum, Paul George, and Mitchell Robinson.
Tatum, of course, is entering his first full season since tearing his Achilles in May 2025.
George, since being traded from Oklahoma City to the Clippers for the 2019-20 season, has appeared in more than 60 games just once. He played only 78 games over two seasons in Philadelphia.
Robinson played in just 31 games during the 2023-24 season and only 17 games during the 2024-25 season. Last season marked the first time since 2021-22 that he appeared in 60 games. He has played fewer than 20 minutes per game in each of the last two seasons and has averaged more than 25 minutes per game just three times in his career, topping out at 27.5 minutes over 31 games during the 2020-21 season.
All three say they are in a good spot entering the new season, and Brad Stevens said the Celtics will be fully healthy entering training camp.
Tatum: “I feel great. September 12 was 16 months, so I’m just at the 16-and-a-half-month mark from my surgery and rehabbing. I feel great having this offseason to get stronger, get more explosive. Just working my body in totality. Obviously, I feel much better than I did this time last year, and I’m excited and thankful for that.”
George: “To hear that ‘he’s not capable of this’ or ‘he’s washed,’ it’s funny, but it’s frustrating, because I’m still capable of doing those things when healthy, and I feel like my body is back healthy. I feel I’m capable of doing those things again. It’s more so, from a personal standpoint, it’s not about going out and trying to drop 30 every night. I think it’s more so about being available, being efficient, being consistent, and I think, again, for myself, just proving that, when healthy, I’m able to do what I’ve done in my career. I don’t judge it off of what I’ve done while being injured. It’s two different tales.”
Robinson: “I feel very confident in myself. I’ve been working on my body this whole summer. Figuring things out. And I’m very confident in myself right now.”
Jayson Tatum is willing to take on a bigger leadership role
With Jaylen Brown gone, all eyes will be on Jayson Tatum to fill the void, both on the court and as a leader.
When asked if he would be comfortable taking on an enhanced leadership role, Tatum said yes.
“Very comfortable. This is year 10. So, obviously I’ve been through it all,” Tatum said. “Leadership is about a lot of different things. Awareness is the biggest thing. Awareness is the biggest one. Self-awareness, awareness of the group, understanding we all have roles and we’re all simply in this together. It looks different from person to person.”
Joe Mazzulla highlighted Tatum’s experience in the league when asked what makes him equipped to take on a bigger leadership role.
“This is year 10 in the league. If you take a 30,000-foot view on just his career, he’s accomplished a lot. He’s been through a lot of experiences,” Mazzulla said. “Every experience in real time always gets labeled as good or bad, because that’s just the nature of the world, but at the end of the day, every experience has to just make you better and get you closer to the person and the player that you’re trying to be. I think he does a great job of learning from those, and this is the next step. This is the next phase of that. But you heavily rely on just the experiences that he’s been through and the growth that he’s made on and off the court.”
Derrick White, who is entering his sixth season in Boston, has seen Tatum become more vocal with each passing year.
“I think he’s definitely [grown] since I’ve been here. Every year he’s gotten more vocal — more of a leader,” White said. “He definitely has his own unique way of being a leader, and I think he does a good job of – I mean, one, he puts in the work. Everybody sees him here, and when you have a guy like that, that’s here every day and puts in the work, you come in here, you’re like, I’ve gotta reach that level. So that’s the first thing. And then just someone that cares about his teammates. Wants the best out of them. So when you got those two things, and then when he tells you to do something, or he sees something, you listen, you respect it. I think he does a great job of that.”
But Tatum pushed back on the notion that this is now “his team.”
“It’s not a simple thing of, ‘It’s my team,’” Tatum said. “I understand the roles that we all play on this team. Everybody’s role is different. That’s what makes up the team. We don’t all have the same roles. We all bring something different on a daily basis to make the group better, add to winning, and make this organization better. So it’s not just saying, “It’s my team.” No, I’m not gonna. I’ve got 14 other teammates that I’m gonna lean on, and we all need each other to be better every single day.”
Paul George, however, made it clear how he views Tatum’s role on this team.
“Obviously, JT is the guy,” George said. “I’m there to support him in all facets.”
Over the summer, Tatum organized workouts in Los Angeles to give the Celtics a head start on building chemistry with the new-look team.
“JT hit the group chat, invited us all out. Most of us were able to make it work with our schedules, so it was cool to get a bunch of guys out there earlier and kind of get acclimated and get used to being around each other,” Sam Hauser said. “It was a lot of fun. We did a lot of work on the court, played some golf, had some dinners, so it was a lot of fun.”
The influence of Paul George and Mike Conley
Since making his debut in 2010, Paul George has played 1,070 NBA games, the 20th most among active players. Mike Conley, who debuted in 2007, has played 1,346 games over 19 NBA seasons, the sixth-most among active players.
Some of the players on this Celtics team grew up watching George and Conley play. Now, they’re teammates, and the younger players have the opportunity to lean on two veterans with a wealth of experience. They’re picking the brains of players they once tried to emulate.
“It’s been great getting to know my new teammates on a more personal level, especially, obviously, [Paul George],” Tatum said. “I’m around that generation of kids that kind of grew up watching him play, especially when I was in middle school and high school. He definitely was one of the guys that when I was coming up, I used to watch a lot of film on — just that archetype of two-way player, 6” 9, can score all three levels. He was definitely, you know, somebody when I was in high school, college, even early in my career, that I would always try to steal things from and watch what he was doing. Just from the way that I play, his ability, a lot of things translated for me.”
Payton Pritchard had similar admiration for Mike Conley.
“It’s somebody I’ve looked up to, and somebody I hope that, at the end of my career, if I can have a similar type of career and have as much success as he has, then that’s a very successful career,” Pritchard said. “I listen to everything he says and kind of follow him. I love him as a person, great human being. Tremendous career and player. Just so many things he does well.”
But George and Conley aren’t here simply to serve as mentors. The Celtics also believe both veterans can still make an impact on the court.
“We got back a great player and a great person in Paul George. As you guys have seen before, he’s done a lot of great things in this league, and I’m super excited to work with him on taking his game to another level – what he could do for us on and off the court with his talent and his experience,” Mazzulla said. “Mike’s resume speaks for itself. What he’s been able to do in his career. He is a four-time Sportsmanship of the Year award winner. He’s been playing in the league almost 20 years now, so he’s just as beneficial there.”
There is reason to be excited about the revamped collection of centers
Joe Mazzulla had to mend some fences with the Celtics’ big-ticket free-agent signing, Mitchell Robinson. Now that the two are on good terms, there’s plenty of excitement surrounding Boston’s revamped group of centers.
“At first, we had a little issue because I’m like, ‘You have to say sorry for fouling me. If you don’t do that, then we’re going to have some issues.’ But he apologized, and now we’re on the same team,” Robinson said. “So it’s gonna be great, just building together and stuff like that. Getting to know him as the year goes on. I feel like this is going to be epic.”
Of course, Robinson was joking about Mazzulla intentionally fouling him during games. Mazzulla would do so because Robinson was so impactful that the Celtics were trying to get him off the floor.
“Mitch is one of the best bigs in the league, Mazzulla said. “Super efficient. His ability to impact games. I’m upset that we’re not going to be able to foul him anymore, but that’s just how it goes. He’s ours, and I think he’s going to be a big impact for us.”
The 7-foot Robinson is one of the best offensive rebounders in the NBA. His 20.1% offensive rebounding percentage led the NBA, while his 4.2 offensive rebounds per game ranked second behind Clingan’s 4.5 among players with at least 40 games played.
Robinson also led the NBA in total rebounds per 36 minutes (16.1), offensive rebounds per 36 minutes (7.7), total rebounds per 100 possessions (22.2), and total offensive rebounds per 100 possessions (10.6).
Defensively, he’s an elite rim protector, recording 70 blocks in 60 games last season. His length and athleticism also allow him to make an impact on the perimeter. Opponents shot just 44.2% when defended by Robinson, 4.5 percentage points below their expected output.
Robinson joins a group of centers that was a pleasant surprise for the Celtics last season, headlined by Neemias Queta and Luka Garza.
Queta had a breakout season, averaging 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game. He nearly doubled his previous career highs while surpassing his combined totals in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks from his first four NBA seasons.
Garza also saw significant improvement, setting career highs in points (8.1), rebounds (4.1), field-goal percentage (57.7%), and 3-point percentage (43.3%) per game.
“Their versatility. I mean, they’re different kinds,” Mazzulla said when asked what excites him about this group. “Obviously, Mitch’s resume speaks for itself. If you take a look at Neemi and Luka, they both are significantly better players than they were at the beginning of last season. Credit to them and their work ethic. With guys you have coming back, you want them to take that next step. They both had great off seasons. They both deserve to be given more responsibility within the framework of our team.”
When asked about the trio of himself, Mitchell Robinson and Luka Garza, Queta first highlighted the toughness and physicality they can bring to the floor, while also including Amari Williams and rookie Chris Cenac Jr.
“Toughness, physicality. That’s something that we do really well — all three of us. We’re all pretty down-to-Earth guys. So I think that’ll mesh us pretty well. I can’t forget about Amari and Chris, as well. I think our Big Fella University is pretty exciting. Those guys should be pretty reliable. Night in and night out, whoever gets called upon, I have 100% confidence that we’ll deliver.”
Derrick White thinks he has fixed his shot
It’s no secret the Celtics are going to need more from Derrick White offensively this season.
In the regular season last year, White shot 39.4% from the field and 32.7% from three. It was the first time in his career that he shot below 40% from the field. In the playoffs, those numbers dropped to 32.1% and 27.3%, respectively.
After putting in the work this summer, White believes his shot is back on track.
“Obviously I had ups over the year, and there were obviously downs in the year. I think every offseason you try to just go back and see what went wrong, why it went wrong, and try to correct it the next season,” White said. “Obviously, shooting was a big thing and something I think that I corrected, hopefully, and just try to work on the parts of my game that I know are gonna be important as well. Everyone thinks they had a great summer and are ready to go, but I feel good, I feel confident, and I just got to go out there and perform.”
