Celtics President Forecasts Wins As Tanking Advocates Fume

Most basketball people have low expectations for the 2025-26 Boston Celtics, but the team employs none of those people.

The energy within Boston’s organization remains optimistic and geared towards winning, despite the outside world fixated on what it views as a guaranteed Celtics drop-off from the team’s recent run of yearly title contention.

Sure, the current Celtics depth chart doesn’t scream contender, but is this squad already underrated? 

It would be foolish to ignore the impact of Jayson Tatum’s absence. Any NBA team becomes much worse without its best player on the court. 

On the other hand, much of the media narratives surrounding the Celtics have been overly negative, in many cases to the tune of advocating for tanking, or at least considering it. That’s an odd discourse to be having about a team with two All-Star-level players in the lineup (Jaylen Brown, Derrick White) and two rotation guys who contributed to an NBA title in 2024 (Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser).

This is a playoff-worthy roster, especially in a weakened Eastern Conference. Why tank? You don’t have to look further back than the 2025 NBA draft to realize how tanking in no way guarantees a top-3 pick.

Here’s a stance that hasn’t been taken enough by Celtics media members: this team, and more importantly, the culture of the Brad Stevens era, are too good for tanking. As a coach, Stevens reached the playoffs with rosters that most people would call tank-worthy … rosters worse than the current iteration. The jury is still out on how Joe Mazzulla will fare with a less-talented roster, but the process of watching Mazzulla work with a completely different situation will be fascinating for Celtics fans, and riveting if Mazzulla is successful.

This Celtics team already has fuel at its disposal that recent Celtics teams have lacked: widespread doubt from fans and the media.

As long as that doubt doesn’t seep into the locker room, the more fuel, the better. And from the sound of Celtics President Rich Gotham, the 2025-26 Celtics expect to win a lot of games this season.

“I don’t think it’s inconceivable that we will be a good team, and a good winning team this year,” Gotham said on Thursday during a presser, per CLNS Media’s Noa Dalzell.

“I’m not sure it’s going to be … the step down (that) people maybe, you know, anticipate. … Even though we kind of lost in disappointing fashion (last year), and, you know, JT’s injury was tough for fans and for everyone, the excitement is there.”

Gotham already realizes something that many fans and analysts have completely missed, blinded by the trauma of losing Tatum for an entire year in the blink of an eye: the Celtics are still a team capable of winning a playoff series, or more. And as we’ve seen over the past two postseasons, injuries and unpredictable outcomes emerge in droves as the stakes rise. Once you’re in the playoffs, anything is possible.

Doubt these Celtics at your own risk.