The Boston Celtics have created a culture in which the stars are known and trusted, but any player on the roster can step up without a moment's notice. It's an enviable and perhaps inevitable result of years of work by Joe Mazzulla, Brad Stevens, and the stars and veterans to empower the unsung heroes to find their voice in the locker room and their role on the court.
The fruits of their labor have been particularly valuable in 2025-26, when unexpected sources of hope have emerged to help Boston salvage the early stages of a season defined by loss.
The Celtics opted to prioritize cutting costs over building a team that can compete for a championship in 2025-26. As a result, it parted with three crucial pieces of its 2024 championship puzzle: Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis.
The controversial decision to move on from three pillars of the franchise's recent success was compounded by the loss of Jayson Tatum, who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in May.
With four All-Stars out of the equation, Boston has leaned on a top-heavy cast of Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons, and Derrick White. It's a quartet most teams could only dream of having on their roster, but depth has been a question mark since the offseason.
Thankfully, the Celtics' supporting cast is stepping up with a by-committee approach and providing the stars with the type of performances that can swing games in their favor.
Celtics' next-man-up mentality a product of unique culture
Boston has won six of its past eight games, with each of its losses coming by single digits. Brown led the Celtics in scoring in four of their six victories, while Payton Pritchard secured that distinction in the other two with 24 points against the Memphis Grizzlies and 41 at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
A surprising theme defined Boston's success during that time, however, as the cast of unheralded players who fill out the depth chart took turns making their mark.
During the aforementioned win over Memphis, Luka Garza posted 14 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes. Neemias Queta added 13 points and eight boards in 20 minutes. The next time out, Queta tallied 14 points and nine rebounds, and Garza finished with 13 and four.
Their respective double-figure runs ended during the third of the Celtics' recent wins, but Josh Minnot stepped up with 10 points in 19 minutes and Sam Hauser had eight points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Hauser and Minnot followed in Garza and Queta's footsteps by turning in a second straight crucial performance against the Orlando Magic. Minnot tallied 16 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes, while Hauser posted 14 in 27.
As if that weren't enough, Baylor Scheierman scored 13 points in a three-point win over the Detroit Pistons, and Jordan Walsh had 14 points and 11 rebounds against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Boston won't win many games without some combination of Brown, Pritchard, Simons, and White stepping up to lead the charge. What it's accomplished early in 2025-26, however, is the creation of a rotation it can trust to excel as the sum of its parts.
The Celtics need to find consistent solutions to the problems they've been presented with, but a culture that prioritizes team above all else has opened the door for unsung heroes to thrive.