# 2024–25 Boston Celtics season
The 2024–25 [Boston Celtics](https://www.edgepedia.org/boston-celtics) season was the defending NBA champions' follow-up campaign to their 2024 title, in which Boston went 61–21, finished second in the Eastern Conference, and set an NBA record for three-pointers made before losing to the [New York Knicks](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-knicks) in the second round of the 2025 playoffs.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) • [2](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-celtics-regular-season-numbers-records-nba/) • [3](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-and-mavericks-facing-uncertain-futures-as-both-teams-have-strange-years-after-2024-nba-finals/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Record and seed | 61–21, second in the NBA Eastern Conference; coached by Joe Mazzulla with Brad Stevens as executive[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) |
| Scoring | 116.3 points per game (8th of 30) scored, 107.2 allowed (2nd of 30); SRS 8.28 (3rd); league-low pace of 95.7[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) |
| Three-point record | NBA-record 1,457 made threes, 17.8 made and 48.2 attempted per game (36.8%)[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-celtics-regular-season-numbers-records-nba/) • [1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) |
| Leading scorers | Jayson Tatum 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists; Jaylen Brown 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) |
| Awards | Payton Pritchard won Sixth Man of the Year; Tatum made All-NBA First Team and the All-Star Game; Brown was an All-Star[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) |
| Playoffs | Beat Orlando 4–1 in the first round, lost 2–4 to the Knicks in the semifinals; Tatum tore his Achilles in Game 4[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) • [3](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-and-mavericks-facing-uncertain-futures-as-both-teams-have-strange-years-after-2024-nba-finals/) |
| Money | $193,098,445 payroll (3rd in the NBA), an estimated $52,558,669 luxury-tax bill, over both the first and second aprons[4](https://www.spotrac.com/nba/boston-celtics/overview/_/year/2024) |
| Ownership | The Grousbeck family agreed to sell the team to Bill Chisholm in March 2025 for a then-record $6.1 billion[3](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-and-mavericks-facing-uncertain-futures-as-both-teams-have-strange-years-after-2024-nba-finals/) |
## Offseason and roster moves
**Continuity was the strategy.** The Celtics returned 15 players from their 2024 NBA championship roster, headlined by four-time All-NBA forward [Jayson Tatum](https://www.edgepedia.org/jayson-tatum) and three-time All-Star and reigning Finals MVP Jaylen Brown.[5](https://www.nba.com/celtics/news/pressrelease-20240924nba-champion-boston-celtics-announce-2024-25-roster) In the 2024 offseason Tatum, Derrick White, and [Sam Hauser](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-hauser) all signed contract extensions, one of them the biggest in NBA history, and [Brad Stevens](https://www.edgepedia.org/brad-stevens) won 2024 Executive of the Year.[6](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/the-conversation-can-the-celtics-repeat-their-formula-and-repeat-as-nba-champions/) Holiday, Tatum, and White added Olympic gold medals with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics in August.[5](https://www.nba.com/celtics/news/pressrelease-20240924nba-champion-boston-celtics-announce-2024-25-roster) Al Horford entered his seventh Boston season as a five-time All-Star, and Kristaps Porziņģis entered his second Celtics season.[5](https://www.nba.com/celtics/news/pressrelease-20240924nba-champion-boston-celtics-announce-2024-25-roster)
**The franchise changed hands mid-season.** The Grousbeck family, who bought the team in 2002 for $360 million, completed the sale to Massachusetts native Bill Chisholm in March 2025 for a record-breaking $6.1 billion, the most ever paid for a North American sports franchise.[3](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-and-mavericks-facing-uncertain-futures-as-both-teams-have-strange-years-after-2024-nba-finals/)
## Regular season
**Three-point volume defined the offense.** Boston's 1,457 made three-pointers set an NBA record, surpassing the 1,362 by [Stephen Curry](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-curry) and the 2022–23 Warriors, and the team set NBA per-game records of 17.8 made and 48.2 attempted threes while shooting 36.8 percent.[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-celtics-regular-season-numbers-records-nba/) • [1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) Three players beat [Isaiah Thomas](https://www.edgepedia.org/isaiah-thomas)'s previous franchise record of 245 made threes: White with 265, Pritchard with 255, and Tatum with 250, the first trio in NBA history to each make 250 in a season.[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-celtics-regular-season-numbers-records-nba/)
**The team was elite at both ends.** Boston scored 116.3 points per game (8th of 30) and allowed 107.2 (2nd of 30), with an SRS of 8.28 (3rd) and the league's lowest pace at 95.7.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) The offensive rating of 120.6 ranked second in the NBA behind Cleveland's 121.0.[7](https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/celtics/15-numbers-that-tell-the-story-of-the-2024-25-boston-celtics) A second account puts the offensive rating at 119.5, also second in the NBA behind [Cleveland](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland); the two published figures differ.[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-celtics-regular-season-numbers-records-nba/) The defense held opponents to 45 percent shooting (second-best in the league) and 34.7 percent from three (third-best).[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-celtics-regular-season-numbers-records-nba/) The Celtics outscored opponents by 747 points, a +9.1 differential that was fifth-best in franchise history.[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-celtics-regular-season-numbers-records-nba/)
**Mid-season form stayed strong.** Boston rolled through February with wide-margin wins, reaching 37–16 and then 41–16.[8](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025_games.html)
## Player statistics and awards
**Tatum carried the largest load.** He averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists over 72 games, shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from three, and earned an All-Star selection, All-NBA First Team honors, and fourth-place MVP voting.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) His 6.0 assists per game was a career best, and he led Boston with 431 assists.[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-celtics-regular-season-numbers-records-nba/)
**Brown's numbers stayed near his Finals MVP level.** Injuries limited him to 63 games, in which he averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, a career-high 4.5 assists, and 1.8 three-pointers in 34.3 minutes, shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 76.4 percent from the line; he was an All-Star.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) • [9](https://www.nbcsports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/boston-celtics-2024-2025-fantasy-basketball-season-recap-jayson-tatum-injury-throws-franchise-into-flux)
**The supporting cast produced at depth.** White averaged 16.4 points and shot 38.4 percent on 9.1 three-point attempts (3.5 made) per game over 76 games, with top-ten Defensive Player of the Year recognition.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) Pritchard averaged 14.3 points over 80 games (3 starts) and finished first in Sixth Man of the Year voting, winning the award; he led all reserves in points (1,079), three-pointers (246), and plus-minus (+428).[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) • [7](https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/celtics/15-numbers-that-tell-the-story-of-the-2024-25-boston-celtics) Porziņģis averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 42 games; Holiday averaged 11.1 points in 62 games; Horford averaged 9.0 points in 60 games; Hauser averaged 8.5 points on 41.6 percent three-point shooting.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html)
## Playoffs
**Boston handled Orlando, then fell to New York.** The Celtics won the Eastern Conference first round 4–1 over the [Orlando Magic](https://www.edgepedia.org/orlando-magic), then lost the conference semifinals 2–4 to the Knicks.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html) Boston blew 20-point leads in Games 1 and 2 of the Knicks series, Tatum tore his [Achilles tendon](https://www.edgepedia.org/achilles-tendon) in Game 4, and the Celtics lost in six games, becoming the sixth consecutive defending champion eliminated before reaching the conference finals.[3](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-and-mavericks-facing-uncertain-futures-as-both-teams-have-strange-years-after-2024-nba-finals/) Tatum ruptured the Achilles in his right leg while attempting to corral a loose ball; Boston won Game 5 two nights later, but the ending was inevitable, and the team fell in Game 6 after trailing by as many as 41 points.[9](https://www.nbcsports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/boston-celtics-2024-2025-fantasy-basketball-season-recap-jayson-tatum-injury-throws-franchise-into-flux) • [10](https://sports.yahoo.com/article/celtics-joe-mazzulla-decision-loss-200826049.html)
## Injuries and rotation management
**Health, not effort, was the season's constraint.** Porziņģis looked nothing like his usual self due to what Brad Stevens later called post-viral syndrome, Holiday strained his hamstring and also missed time with a shoulder injury, and Tatum bruised his wrist in the first round; Brown was later revealed to have played through a torn meniscus after being nagged by a knee issue.[3](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-and-mavericks-facing-uncertain-futures-as-both-teams-have-strange-years-after-2024-nba-finals/) • [9](https://www.nbcsports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/boston-celtics-2024-2025-fantasy-basketball-season-recap-jayson-tatum-injury-throws-franchise-into-flux)
**The rotation churned accordingly.** Mazzulla used 33 different starting lineups, seven more than the prior season, and had his usual starters together for only 24 contests, 13 fewer than the championship year.[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-celtics-regular-season-numbers-records-nba/) • [7](https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/celtics/15-numbers-that-tell-the-story-of-the-2024-25-boston-celtics) One recurring adjustment had Tatum subbed out midway through the first quarter to run bench-heavy second-quarter lineups with Pritchard, Hauser, and [Luke Kornet](https://www.edgepedia.org/luke-kornet); the Brown-plus-Kornet-Hauser-Pritchard combination posted a +15.9 rating in 56 minutes.[11](https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/rotation-starting-five-stats-joe-mazzulla/682672/)
## By the numbers
**The championship roster was expensive.** Boston's active roster payroll was $193,098,445, third in the NBA, against a $140,588,000 salary cap, with an estimated luxury-tax bill of $52,558,669 against a $170,814,000 threshold.[4](https://www.spotrac.com/nba/boston-celtics/overview/_/year/2024) The team exceeded both aprons, sitting $15,216,445 over the first apron ($178,132,000) and $4,417,445 over the second apron ($188,931,000).[4](https://www.spotrac.com/nba/boston-celtics/overview/_/year/2024) Brown's $49,205,800 cap hit, 35.00 percent of the league cap, was the largest on the team, followed by Tatum at $34,848,340.[4](https://www.spotrac.com/nba/boston-celtics/overview/_/year/2024)
## How it compares with other defending champions
The 61–21 record was the 15th 60-win season in franchise history and made Boston the first defending champion to win 60 games since the 2016 [Golden State Warriors](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-state-warriors).[3](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-and-mavericks-facing-uncertain-futures-as-both-teams-have-strange-years-after-2024-nba-finals/) The +9.1 scoring differential was the highest by a defending champion since the 2015–16 Warriors' +10.8.[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-celtics-regular-season-numbers-records-nba/) It was also the fourth time in franchise history the Celtics recorded consecutive 60-win seasons, and the first such back-to-back since 2007–08 and 2008–09.[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-celtics-regular-season-numbers-records-nba/) • [7](https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/celtics/15-numbers-that-tell-the-story-of-the-2024-25-boston-celtics) The second-round exit extended a recent pattern: the Celtics were the sixth consecutive defending champion eliminated before the conference finals.[3](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-and-mavericks-facing-uncertain-futures-as-both-teams-have-strange-years-after-2024-nba-finals/)
## What changed after the season
**The second apron forced a teardown.** Getting under the second apron required cutting about $20 million in salary, and keeping the roster together could have cost over $500 million with luxury-tax penalties, with over $227 million in guaranteed contracts on the books besides Horford and Kornet.[3](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-and-mavericks-facing-uncertain-futures-as-both-teams-have-strange-years-after-2024-nba-finals/) Porziņģis had one year at $30.7 million remaining, Holiday three years at $104 million, and Hauser four years at $44.8 million, making them likely salary-shedding trade candidates.[3](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-and-mavericks-facing-uncertain-futures-as-both-teams-have-strange-years-after-2024-nba-finals/)
**The departures followed.** Tatum's torn Achilles was expected to keep him out for at least most of the 2025–26 season.[12](https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/team-profiles/2025-boston-celtics) [Al Horford](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-horford) and Luke Kornet became unrestricted free agents, and the Celtics traded [Jrue Holiday](https://www.edgepedia.org/jrue-holiday) and [Kristaps Porziņģis](https://www.edgepedia.org/kristaps-porzingis).[12](https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/team-profiles/2025-boston-celtics)
## References
1. [2024-25 Boston Celtics Roster and Stats, Basketball-Reference](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025.html)
2. [The 2024-25 Boston Celtics put up some incredible numbers in the regular season, CBS Boston](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-celtics-regular-season-numbers-records-nba/)
3. [Celtics and Mavericks facing uncertain futures as both teams have strange years after 2024 NBA Finals, CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-and-mavericks-facing-uncertain-futures-as-both-teams-have-strange-years-after-2024-nba-finals/)
4. [Boston Celtics 2024-25 Financial Summary, Spotrac](https://www.spotrac.com/nba/boston-celtics/overview/_/year/2024)
5. [NBA Champion Boston Celtics Announce 2024-25 Roster, Boston Celtics](https://www.nba.com/celtics/news/pressrelease-20240924nba-champion-boston-celtics-announce-2024-25-roster)
6. [The conversation: Can the Celtics repeat their formula and repeat as NBA champions?, CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/the-conversation-can-the-celtics-repeat-their-formula-and-repeat-as-nba-champions/)
7. [15 numbers that tell the story of the 2024-25 Boston Celtics, WEEI](https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/celtics/15-numbers-that-tell-the-story-of-the-2024-25-boston-celtics)
8. [2024-25 Boston Celtics Schedule, Basketball-Reference](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2025_games.html)
9. [Boston Celtics 2024-2025 fantasy basketball season recap, NBC Sports](https://www.nbcsports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/boston-celtics-2024-2025-fantasy-basketball-season-recap-jayson-tatum-injury-throws-franchise-into-flux)
10. [Celtics Make Joe Mazzulla Decision After Loss to Knicks, Yahoo Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/article/celtics-joe-mazzulla-decision-loss-200826049.html)
11. [Celtics rotation tweak paying early dividends for starting lineup, NBC Sports Boston](https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/rotation-starting-five-stats-joe-mazzulla/682672/)
12. [NBA 2025 Draft Prospects: Boston Celtics team profile, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/team-profiles/2025-boston-celtics)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › NBA and WNBA (North American professional basketball) › NBA and WNBA seasons, champions, and records*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license