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Celtics’ newest icons and champions fill MassLive Quarter-Century Team
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- Celtics’ newest icons and champions fill MassLive Quarter-Century Team
In the last 25 years, the Celtics have fluctuated from contender to rebuilding to contender again three times.
They’ve won two championships in that stretch and made some memorable trades. They’ve added two more numbers to the collection in the rafters with more unquestionably to follow.
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So which Boston players have been the best of the best since 2000?
MassLive has assembled a Celtics Quarter-Century team to answer that question.
For this project, we invited our current coverage team, as well as anyone who covered the Celtics for MassLive, and before that, the Springfield Republican, to vote.
Voters were asked to submit a first and second team of five players who could conceivably take the floor together, and then voted on a coach and general manager as well. Only performance after 2000 and playing for the Celtics was considered.
So without further ado, let’s get to the Quarter-Century team:
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First team
Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)AP
Years: 1998-2013
Championships: 2008
Why he made it: Pierce was the foundation upon which Danny Ainge built the Celtics 2008 title on.
Pierce is a 10-time All-Star and the Final MVP and is second the Celtics’ storied history with 24,021 career points.
He made the Eastern Conference finals with Antoine Walker in 2002 and suffered through the rebuild until the rest of the Big Three arrived.
Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)AP
Years: 2007-2013
Championships: 2008
Why he made it:
The identity of the Celtics franchise changed when the Hall of Fame forward arrived from Minnesota in 2007, setting the stage for a 2008 title win.
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Garnett was the team’s defensive anchor over the next six years, winning Defensive Player of the Year in his first season at age 31. He also tallied four All-Star appearances in Boston in his 30s. A knee injury in 2009 likely robbed Boston of at least one more title in his tenure, but Garnett’s intensity and unselfishness set the stage for the Celtics return to excellence for the first time since the 1980s.
Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)AP
Years: 2017-present
Championships: 2024
Why he made it:
The six-time All-Star is well on his way to being considered one of the best Celtics of all time just eight seasons into his pro career. He led the team in scoring for six consecutive seasons before tearing his ACL last May and has earned four All-NBA first team honors before turning 27.
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Tatum also helped lead the Celtics to five Eastern Conference finals appearances in his first seven NBA seasons before eventually getting over the hump with a title win in 2024. Jaylen Brown may have won the 2024 Finals MVP, but there is no doubting who has been the best player on the Celtics roster year in and year out for the past decade.
Rajon Rondo
Rajon Rondo (AP Photo/Nick Wass)AP
Years: 2006-2014
Championships: 2008
Why he made it:
The dynamic point guard may have been a role player during Boston’s title win in 2008 but his growth helped to keep Boston in contention in the East as Boston’s Big Three of Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen started to decline in the early 2010s.
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Rondo made four straight All-Star teams in Boston starting in 2009 and also made four All-Defensive teams while serving as the floor general under Doc Rivers. He also led the league twice in assists and regularly raised his production in the postseason.
An underrated move of Ainge’s tenure was refusing to include a rookie Rondo in trade talks for Garnett in 2007. One year later, the duo was celebrating Boston’s first title win in 22 years.
Jaylen Brown
Jaylen Brown (Karen Guregian photo)Karen Guregian
Years: 2016-present
Championships: 2024
Why he made it:
Danny Ainge took a gamble on Brown with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, drawing a rebuke from the Garden crowd, who had hoped for a trade. The choice helped Boston land the building block of a perennial contender for the past decade.
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Brown has continually ascended throughout his career, with four All-Star appearances as a steady No. 2 next to Jayson Tatum since 2020. He’s also raised his game in the postseason, with his career numbers in those contests matching his regular-season production.
The 2024 Finals MVP ensured his name will eventually be raised to the Garden rafters.
Second team
Ray Allen
Ray Allen (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)AP
Years: 2007-12
Championships: 2008
Why he made it: In many ways, Allen is the prodigal son. He was such a good player and such an important piece to the 2008 champions and 2010 runners-up. When he left for Miami , it felt like a betrayal for his teammates and left the fan-base torn between appreciation and scorn for him.
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But he, Pierce and Kevin Garnett have made up and Allen is welcome again.
The Hall of Famer was a three-time All-Star and arguably the most complete version of himself as a Celtic.
Marcus Smart
Marcus Smart (Photo by Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)MediaNews Group via Getty Images
Years: 2014-23
Championships: none
Why he made it: The fact that Marcus Smart won no championships as a Celtic is sad. He was a foundational piece of the current era and an important part of building its culture. He loved being a Celtic and embraced what that meant.
The move to trade him was the right one, but the former 2022 defensive player of the year was a key part of Boston’s identity for quite a while.
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Derrick White
Derrick White. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)AP
Years: 2022-present
Championships: 2024
Why he made it: The veteran guard was underused early in his Boston tenure upon being acquired from the Spurs at the trade deadline in 2022. He battled Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon for crunch time minutes before Brad Stevens wisely cleared those guards out for the superior two-way player.
From there, White has blossomed into an integral piece of Boston’s championship supporting cast in 2024. His durability and defensive acumen helped turn Boston into a juggernaut the past two seasons, and he could find himself in the rafters one day if the Celtics add another title or two during his tenure.
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Al Horford
Al Horford (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)AP
Years: 2016-19, 2021-25
Championships: 2024
Why he made it: Horford averaged 11.2 points per game over his seven seasons in Boston and never more than 14.0 per game. Only one of his five All-Star selections came with Boston.
But when he signed with Boston in 2016, he gave the Celtics, who’d struggled to land free agents, credibility and started a process of turning the franchise back into a contender.
Horford emerged as a mentor and steadying presence for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
Antoine Walker
Antoine Walker (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Years: 1996-2003, 2005
Championships: 0 with Celtics
Why he made it: This final spot was difficult. Should it be Walker? Isaiah Thomas ? Kyrie Irving ?
Walker got the nod. From 2000 to when he was traded to Dallas after the 2002-23 season, Employee No. 8 averaged 21.5 points and 8.2 rebounds, both above his career averages and shimmied his way to the All-Star game twice.
Other Receiving votes:
Isaiah Thomas, Kendrick Perkins , Kyrie Irving
Coach
Doc Rivers
Doc Rivers (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Years: 2005-2013
Championships: 2008
Why he made it: There were numerous egos to manage upon the arrival of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to Boston in 2007 but Rivers created a strong connection immediately with that group. That bond led to an immediate title at the start of the Big Three era.
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Injuries likely cost Rivers one more chance title but he still holds a special spot in Boston’s record books with the second-longest tenure (nine years) and third-most playoff wins (59) behind Red Auerbach and K.C. Jones.
Also receiving votes:
Brad Stevens
General Manager:
Danny Ainge
Jayson Tatum and Danny Ainge (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)AP
Years: 2003-21
Championships:2008
Why he made it:This was a pretty easy call. Ainge not only pulled off the deals for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to create the 2008 championship core, but he smartly picked Jaylen Brown and traded down for Jayson Tatum to produce the 2024 team.
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Voters:
For this project, we invited our current Celtics coverage team, as well as anyone who covered the Celtics for MassLive and, before that, the Springfield Republican, to vote.
This team was selected by: John Karalis, Jeff Thomas, Jim Pignatiello, Brian Robb, Souichi Terada, Chris Mason and Matt Vautour.
Note on methodology: Voters were instructed to only consider performance from 2000-25 and only what they did for the Celtics. They were asked to vote for a first team and a second team that could conceivably take the floor together.
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