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oct 03 2026An era has ended in Boston. During Jaylen Brown's ten seasons, the Celtics were the league's winningest team and won 86 playoff games. Now Brown plays in Philadelphia—the team that eliminated them in May—and Jayson Tatum is once again the project's sole star. For Spanish fans, the focus is elsewhere: Hugo González enters his second NBA season with more playing time than ever.
Where They're Coming From: 56 Wins and a 3-1 Lead That Slipped Away
The 2025-26 season exceeded all expectations. Without Tatum for 62 games, with Brown in his best form (28.7 points per night), the Celtics finished 56-26, second in the East. According to NBA.com, they strung together their fourth consecutive season among the league's top five teams in both offense and defense—something no one had achieved before.
Tatum returned on March 6, ten months after rupturing his Achilles tendon, and in 16 games averaged 21.8 points and a career-high 10.0 rebounds. The problem came in the spring. The Celtics went up 3-1 against the Sixers in the first round and lost the next three games, including Game 7 at TD Garden (100-109). In those final three games, they shot 28% from three, and Tatum couldn't finish the series at full strength.
The Offseason: Goodbye to Brown
Brad Stevens' front office made a complete script change. After unsuccessfully pursuing Giannis Antetokounmpo, they traded Brown to Philadelphia in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks. George is 36 years old and played only 79 games in two seasons in Philadelphia, but he brings shooting and defense at the small forward position.
To bolster the paint, Boston paid three years and $47 million for Mitchell Robinson, who was a key piece in the Knicks' championship. Mike Conley arrives as a veteran point guard, and the draft adds Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell. Neemias Queta signed a four-year extension. Nikola Vučević, Dalano Banton, and Max Shulga depart, with Shulga returning to Europe to sign with Real Madrid.
Hugo González, the Breakout Candidate
The Madrid-born shooting guard, selected 28th in the 2025 draft, closed his first NBA year with 74 games and over 1,000 minutes in Joe Mazzulla's rotation: 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 14.6 minutes. Those numbers fall short of measuring his impact. NBA.com selects him as a breakout candidate for this season and notes he was the only rookie above the league average in both two-point and three-point shooting percentage, with at least 100 attempts of each. Moreover, with him on the court, the Celtics outscored opponents by 11.9 points per 100 possessions.
The room for improvement is also clear: he was last on the roster in time with the ball and usage percentage, and in the playoffs he played just 19 minutes across seven games. With Brown gone and after a summer of double-doubles in Summer League, the context invites giving him more ball and more responsibility.
The Rotation
The expected starting five is White, Pritchard, George, Tatum, and Robinson, with Queta, Hugo González, Conley, Sam Hauser, and Baylor Scheierman off the bench. Mazzulla has options to play with two big men or with five shooters, as he has done in recent years.
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The Season's Big Questions
The first is Tatum's health, arriving at training camp saying he's fully recovered. His mobility will be one of the keys in the first weeks.
The second is playing style. NBA.com notes that for the third straight year the Celtics were the team taking the fewest shots in the paint (41%) and, for the second year, the team drawing the fewest free throws. It works for them in the regular season, with the league's most efficient offense over the last three years, but it cost them in the last two playoffs. Robinson brings pick-and-roll finishes and offensive rebounding; George, meanwhile, is more of a shooter than Brown.
The third is Derrick White's three-point shooting, which dropped to 32.7% in the regular season and 27.3% in the playoffs. Getting him back on track will be key.
And there's the East, deeper than ever and with Sixers that Boston itself has made stronger.
The Schedule: Key Dates
The Celtics open the NBA season on October 20 in Detroit (9:00 PM ET), in a matchup between the two top teams in the East from last season's regular season. On October 23 they host the defending champion: they've lost five of their last six matchups against the Knicks. On November 29 they visit San Antonio.
On Christmas they host Miami with Giannis Antetokounmpo, and on January 21 Jaylen Brown returns to TD Garden wearing a Sixers jersey.
Piratas' Prediction
Boston has been a regular-season machine for years, and with a healthy Tatum shouldn't stop being one. But they've lost their second star, depend on a 36-year-old George, and arrive at an East where several rivals have strengthened more. Our bet: between 48 and 53 wins, a direct playoff spot between fourth and sixth seed, and a season in which Hugo González should take a clear step forward in his role. To compete for the ring, this team is missing some paint presence and free throw attempts.
