BOSTON — Whatever it takes.
The message on the t-shirts draped over each seat at TD Garden was simple, yet emblematic. Championships require sacrifice, and as the Celtics entered Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals needing just one win to reach the NBA's mountaintop, no sacrifice was too big.
Joe Mazzulla coached on a torn meniscus. Kristaps Porzingis risked his left leg. Derrick White sacrificed part of a tooth. And after 48 minutes, the Celtics were champions.
Only it was much more than just those 48 minutes.
The Celtics' 2024 NBA title was a championship 16 years in the making. 16 years, three head coaches, two Finals losses and one heart-wrenching trade later, Boston was again hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
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Porzingis and White's willingness to do whatever it took to win Game 5 were the final sacrifices of a 16-year span that saw the Celtics organization do any and everything needed to return to the NBA's mountaintop. Any result less than a championship? Unacceptable. That's Boston.
Boston calls itself the City of Champions, and the nickname reflects the standard of excellence set by the area's franchises. There's winning and there's winning in Boston, something I learned is quite different during my experience at Games 1, 2 and 5 of the Finals.
These Celtics didn't just win in Boston. They won in Boston.
Poetically, the Celtics won their NBA-record 18th title in front of their fans at TD Garden 16 years from the date of their last championship-clinching win, which also happened on Boston's famed parquet floor.
After a long pursuit of Banner No. 18, Boston captured the title in front of nearly 20,000 fans who experienced every high and low during a 16-year journey back to the top. Those lows made the highest high that much sweeter.
As Boston began to pull away from Dallas in Game 5, you could sense the building's nervous energy transforming into celebratory excitement. With the Celtics holding a 19-point lead ahead of the fourth quarter, you could feel it in the building. Banner No. 18 was on the way. The fans just knew.
"Over the last couple years, we had some tough losses at home in the playoffs," Jayson Tatum explained as the reality of being an NBA champion set in postgame.
"We've lost the NBA Championship at home in front of our fans. We had a chance to beat Miami in Game 6 a few years ago and lost that one. So to have a big win — the biggest win that you could have in front of your home crowd — I felt like that was really important to go out there and do everything in my power to make sure we won this game tonight."
Everything in his power. Whatever it takes.
Tatum has often detailed that he has grown up in the city of Boston. Seven years after joining the historic franchise as a 19-year-old with unlimited potential, Tatum is a five-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA selection and a one-time NBA champion.
As Tatum rode on a duck boat through the streets of Boston during the team's championship parade, he repeatedly said, "I love you," to each group of fans he passed by.
@jaytatum0 gotta let the fans know he loves them 💚🏆 pic.twitter.com/EvvutlnGc4
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) June 21, 2024
Clearly, the feeling is mutual.
The element of growing up in Boston also applies to Jaylen Brown, who joined the franchise a year before Tatum. Like Tatum, Brown has been subjected to plenty of unwarranted criticism during his eight years in Boston, but he, too, is now a champion — and the Finals MVP, to boot.
MORE: Jaylen Brown needed less than a year to live up to historic deal with Celtics
Jrue Holiday came to Boston with a championship mentality, completely understanding his role as the final piece to the puzzle when the franchise acquired him ahead of the 2023-24 season. The journey from when he was introduced in October to winning a championship in June was a quick one, but from the beginning, he understood a championship was the expectation.
Of all the Celtics, Al Horford's journey was the longest. After 17 years and an eight-year Celtics journey that included a two-year detour elsewhere, Horford was at last an NBA champion.
As he sat down to reflect upon yet another career-defining accomplishment, Horford recalled a conversation he had with Danny Ainge during a free agency meeting in 2016.
"[Ainge] said, 'You can win championships in many places, but there's nothing like winning in Boston. Nothing like winning as a Celtic.' And that stuck with me from that meeting. I was like, 'Man, I'm trying to be great, and that's what I want.'"
Winning is sweet, but as evidenced by Horford's final moments on the floor in Game 5, winning in Boston is even sweeter.
Al Horford checks out of the game 💚 pic.twitter.com/g6uFtyHD9C
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) June 18, 2024
From Mazzulla and the Celtics' six core players to the team's "stay ready" group that took part in rigorous pick-up games hours before tip-off, every member of the franchise understood no sacrifice was too great to achieve the ultimate goal of an 18th championship.
As the Celtics' celebration continues into the summer, understand that the expectation of greatness and standards of excellence this city upholds means this group will be even hungrier for the next.
This championship in 2024 may very well only be the beginning.
