It’s been 15 years since the Celtics last posted back-to-back 60-win seasons. Those teams were led by the Big Three—Hall of Famers Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett. Their head coach, Doc Rivers, is bound for Springfield himself, and Rajon Rondo will probably join him there one day, too.
Before that, you’d have to go back to the 1980s, when the Celtics had three consecutive 60-win seasons twice—from 1979–82 and again from 1983–86. Those teams were led by Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson, with help from Bill Walton and Tiny Archibald, both Hall of Famers in their own right. They helped define a decade of dominance.
The 2023–24 and 2024–25 Celtics have joined that elite company, notching 64 and 61 wins, respectively. It marks the 15th time they’ve reached the 60-win milestone in franchise history. Of the previous 14, seven went on to win it all.
“It’s cool. Another incredible season, 60-plus win team,” Jayson Tatum said. “Obviously, the goal is to compete for championships, but I think enjoying the process along the way, cherishing those small wins, per se, and acknowledging that we had another incredible regular season is something to be proud of, for sure. But now, just kind of shifting gears and getting our minds and our bodies ready for what’s to come.”
It’s easy to skip ahead to the ultimate goal—another banner. That’s the standard. It’s why those past teams are immortalized: they won when it mattered. This current group has earned its seat at the table. That 10-by-15-foot banner from 2024 will hang forever above the parquet. And while their story is still being written, another 60-win season reinforces just how dominant this era of Celtics basketball really is.
Boston owns the NBA’s longest active playoff streak at 11 straight seasons. During that stretch, they have been to the Eastern Conference Finals six times and the NBA Finals three.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have led the Celtics to five Conference Finals appearances—more than the Hornets, Pelicans, Clippers, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Kings, Nets, Hawks, Raptors, Magic, and Wizards have in their entire franchise histories. That shouldn’t feel normal, but with this duo, it somehow does. They’ve reached the Conference Finals in 71% of their seasons together. That’s wild.
Brown’s six trips to the Conference Finals are the second-most in NBA history before turning 28, trailing only Magic Johnson. Tatum’s five matchups tie him with Brown, Kobe Bryant, and Darryl Dawkins for the second-most before turning 27—again, behind only Magic.
Maybe it’s the HBO Celtics City doc talking, but the parallels between this group and the decorated teams of the past aren’t hard to spot. This era will one day be remembered the same way those squads are: as a Celtics powerhouse. Tatum and Brown are on Hall of Fame trajectories. Jrue Holiday and Al Horford have strong cases, too—and in this author’s opinion, both should be in. But that’s a conversation for another day.
This is an all-time great team. They may not have matched last season’s historic dominance, but that’s expected in a title defense. To win 60 games in a year where many thought the sky was falling during those weeks of .500 basketball? That’s impressive. And when you stack them up against past champions in their title-defense years, this group is putting together one of the best follow-ups in recent memory.
Since the 2008–09 Celtics followed their title with 62 wins, only the 2012–13 Heat and the 2015–16 Warriors have reached 60 wins while defending a title. Both made it back to the Finals—Miami won it, and Golden State… well, they blew a 3–1 lead.
It was a special season for a special group. Now, it’s about furthering their legacy. Enjoy it. Soak it in. Because this is a historic team we’re watching, and they’ll be looking to add to their story over the next two months.
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