BOSTON — The Boston Celtics came into the 2025-26 NBA season with minimal expectations. However, win by win, they built those expectations back up again and turned into a contender, even without star forward Jayson Tatum healthy for the majority of the regular season. When the playoffs arrived, the Celtics were once again competing for a championship, and nothing less, but they disappointed in the first round and were eliminated in Game 7 on Saturday night by the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers.
So, how do the Celtics begin to rationalize the 109-100 loss and their historic collapse against a hated rival? While some fans might claim it was a fruitless season, especially since Green Teamers are always dreaming of championships, that’s not how the players viewed it.
“It was a great season,” Celtics star Jaylen Brown said. “I’m proud of my teammates and just their growth from guys (who are) coming from different organizations, or guys who hadn’t really played a lot who stepped up big in these playoffs and stepped up big in a regular season and helped us get to the position that we’re at. That’s what it’s about. I’m so grateful to be with this group.”
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Brown could have entered the press room in a sour mood after getting eliminated. He scored a team-high 33 points yet missed his last 4 shots in a tight, one-possession game that the Celtics could have won. And while the five-time All-Star still seemed emotional, he was far from discouraged.
“This group was awesome,” Brown said. “I had a fun year. This is probably one of my most fun years playing basketball. It didn’t always go — it wasn’t always perfect. It wasn’t always analytically, aesthetically pleasing. We won a lot of basketball games, and people could see the grit and the fight that we played with every single night. Tonight was an example of that.”
Prior to the season, the Celtics could have decided to tank. Maybe they gun for a lottery pick instead of trying for a championship without Tatum healthy. Brown never went for that, though, as he always dreamed of leading a team of his own.
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He accomplished that and had a career year while doing so. Many of his inexperienced teammates, ranging from Celtics wing Jordan Walsh to reserve-turned-starting center Neemias Queta, also had the best seasons of their professional lives.
“I thought a lot of people had a lot of growth this year,” Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard said in the locker room. “That’s a positive. Just because you don’t win a championship one year doesn’t mean it didn’t build for the next championship.”
Overall, pride, positivity, and growth are what key members of the Celtics took from a surprising season. The front office can use it as a building block and continue to center the roster around Brown and Tatum, who’s still recovering from a ruptured Achilles he suffered last May and sat on Saturday due to left knee stiffness.
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But just because the Celtics aren’t weeping over the loss in public doesn’t mean they’re unaware of the opportunities they squandered in Game 7.
“We left it all out there,” Brown said. “We played five small guys, we played a rookie, we played whatever, and we scrapped all the way to the end. Just came up a couple few plays short.”
Now the offseason begins, in which the Celtics can either stay put or exceed tax aprons to bring in new talent. No matter how the team’s decision makers approach it, the players won’t forget the bittersweet season.
“It was a pleasure,” Brown said of the 2025-26 campaign. “Each and every one of those guys I’ve watched develop, get better, and step up in big moments and help us win games. Tonight, we came up a little bit short. Fourth quarter — we had some great looks that I wish would have went down, but nothing to hang my head over. Nothing for our team to hang our heads over.”
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard remain proud of Celtics despite first-round exit
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