Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been the backbone of the Boston Celtics for nearly a decade now. They enjoyed plenty of success, but they finally got over the hump at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, bringing Banner 18 home to Boston.
But while Tatum and Brown were the best players on the Celtics’ latest title team, they only reached the peak of the NBA world because they fixed the fatal flaw that plagued their roster for years.
The Celtics fixed one fatal flaw, and it won them an NBA championship
Starting with the Isaiah Thomas seasons, the Celtics always had score-first point guards. Even when Tatum and Brown were their best players, they still rolled with guards whose primary goal was to put the ball in the basket.
Thomas led the Celtics prior to the Tatum and Brown years, but when he left, he was replaced by Kyrie Irving. His time in Boston left a bad taste in people’s mouths, but he was heading the roster before Tatum and Brown were the All-Stars they have become.
Irving was one of the leading shot-takers on the roster, even though Tatum and Brown could have probably used the shots to develop. And despite the fact that Irving missed a large chunk of his first season with the Celtics, Terry Rozier took over the role, and he’s a score-first guy, too.
Once Irving left town, Kemba Walker came into the picture. From one heavy shot-taker to another, Walker immediately took over as the Celtics’ leading scorer in his first year, even though Tatum and Brown were inching closer to their peaks.
After that, the Celtics made the most important transition of the last decade.
They moved from Walker to Marcus Smart at point guard.
Smart may not have been a traditional point guard when he took over in Boston, but he was a solid playmaker, played great defense, and didn’t take shots away from Tatum and Brown. That’s when the Celtics made their first Finals. They finally found the best point guard archetype to play alongside Tatum and Brown.
Since then, they’ve moved on to Derrick White and Jrue Holiday running the show, both of whom are similar players to Smart but much better offensive players. They are capable of creating for themselves and others but also more than comfortable playing off the ball.
Low and behold, the Celtics won a title with those two leading the charge, as Tatum and Brown were able to play their games to the best of their ability.
Following three straight score-first guards in Thomas, Irving, and Walker, the Celtics moved onto defensive-minded, off-ball-type point guards in Smart, White, and Holiday.
That is what won them their first championship in 16 years.