September is here. A new NBA season isn’t far behind. The Boston Celtics huddle for Media Day on September 29 before launching into training camp practices. The first preseason game is October 8. We’re 50 days away from regular-season games.
It’s time to start thinking about basketball again. And while the 2025-26 Celtics season will be very different from Boston’s recent campaigns, there’s a lot to ponder as the green begin to chart the next path to title contention with a new-look roster.
Today, we’re kicking off our annual Ramp to Camp series, where we ponder a new Celtics topic every weekday in September. We cobbled together some of NBC Sports Boston’s finest behind-the-scenes hoops savants — the people who make our shows and content shine — and peppered them with questions about the 2025-26 Celtics.
To kick things off, we gave them a very open-ended query: What do you most want to learn about this team during the 2025-26 season?
Regardless of how competitive the Celtics are this season — we’re more bullish about their potential than most, despite the talent drain brought upon by the second apron — we’re going to learn an awful lot about this team. That questions that have lingered, even during the march to Banner 18, will be answered.
How does Jaylen Brown fare in the 1A role while Jayson Tatum rehabs from Achilles surgery? How will Payton Pritchard respond if he’s thrust into a starter role? Which of the younger players on this roster can blossom and show they can be key pieces of Boston’s next title contender?
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Maybe our biggest curiosity: What can Joe Mazzulla do with this roster? Ever since his promotion to head coach, Mazzulla has operated with talent-rich rosters featuring championship-or-bust mentalities. We know for certain he can deliver the grandest prize with such a team, and the Celtics have Banner 18 to show for it.
The question this season is, how much can Mazzulla coach up a team that’s endured a talent drain, both from the departures this offseason and Tatum’s absence? Mazzulla is going to have to press all the right buttons to maximize his remaining talent, and we’re eager to see exactly where he can deliver a team without quite the same burden of expectations.
One of Brad Stevens’ coaching superpowers was an ability to deliver teams that were greater than the perceived sum of their individual parts.
We all know what he did at Butler. Going into Stevens’ sophomore NBA season, the Celtics were projected to win 27 games and despite cycling through 22 roster players during that 2014-15 season, Stevens delivered a 40-win playoff team. A season later, with an Amir Johnson-David Lee-Jordan Mickey-Tyler Zeller frontcourt, Boston finished 14 game over .500 and earned the fifth seed in the East.
Stevens had a way of tapping into his players’ individual talents and finding the best combinations that allowed them to thrive. Now we’re going to find out if Mazzulla can do the same.
Let’s be clear here: This isn’t to question Mazzulla’s coaching chops. There’s a reason the Celtics locked him up this summer. The team believes he’s the right guy to lead this team into this next chapter. This season will simply be a different sort of challenge, and we’re eager to see how Mazzulla navigates those new obstacles.
The bullseye might be gone, but we suspect Mazzulla will bring the same fire and zest on a daily basis. His challenge will be getting the most out of a set of younger players that must fill the shoes of the decorated veterans that departed.
His ability to do that could shorten the wait for Boston’s next title contender.
What does our panel want to learn during the 2025-26 season?
Adam Hart, EP, Content Strategy
Do the Celtics have the pieces to compete for a title once Jayson Tatum is back to full strength?
Jrue Holiday, Al Horford (expected to sign elsewhere), Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet represent a major depletion in NBA experience. Who from this younger group can be part of the future, or provide the next wave of NBA experience through trade?
Max Lederman, Content Producer
Can Brad Stevens draft?
Finding playing time for players like Jordan Walsh and Baylor Scheierman hasn’t been a priority over the last few seasons, but with what looks like a gap year on hand, we should have a much better idea about them following this season.
Neither player was selected in a slot that normally produces stars, but being able to add rotation players on the cheap will be crucial if the Celtics want to contend again in the apron era.
Josh Canu, Media Editor
Joe Mazzulla was thrust into the head coach position before he or anyone ever expected and, despite some fair criticisms, he and the Celtics have been extremely successful in his tenure.
Now, with a much different roster and without the team’s MVP, I want to see what Joe can do with a squad with lower expectations and less talent.
He has the extension in hand, but this is the prove-it year for Joe Mazzulla to show he is a top-tier coach in the NBA.
Chris Forsberg breaks down what the extension means for the team
Darren Hartwell, Managing Editor
How high is Payton Pritchard’s ceiling?
Pritchard responded to an expanded role last season by winning NBA Sixth Man of the Year. He’ll likely take on an even bigger role this season following the departure of Jrue Holiday. So, how much better than he get?
Can he be a legitimate front-end starter? Is it crazy to think he’ll be an All-Star? Determining Pritchard’s ceiling is an important step for the Celtics as they aim to build a new core around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Michael Hurley, Web Producer
It’s the stock answer, but I want to see Jaylen Brown as the unquestioned best player on the team.
There’s no greater commodity in the NBA than superstar talent, and while the Celtics obviously have Brown locked in for years, it’ll be fascinating to see if he can unlock something that’s been kept held down while sharing the spotlight with Tatum.
And if Brown does reach new levels … how far does that take the team? A legitimate Eastern Conference playoff run feels more feasible if Brown reaches the potential that he clearly believes he has.
Sean McGuire, Web Producer
I want to learn more about Jaylen Brown this season.
Kind of weird, right? I mean, we’re talking about a four-time NBA All-Star who owns hardware for being the Eastern Conference MVP and NBA Finals MVP. Still, I just can’t help but wonder how he’ll fare without Jayson Tatum.
The Scottie Pippen-without-Michael Jordan comparison is one I really like. Pippen didn’t lead the Bulls to a title when Jordan was batting .202 with 114 strikeouts in the minors, but he kept them competitive in 1993-94. Pippen was a legitimate scorer, passer and defender.
If Brown does the same, it should make for a fun Celtics season. And that’s all we can ask for at this point.
Kevin Miller, VP, Content
Can Jaylen Brown improve as a playmaker? I’m curious about his usage rate and how everyone plays off of him.
