Full new contract terms for Xavier Tillman's return to Boston Celtics revealed

The Boston Celtics continued their perfect offseason with their fifth resigning of the summer. The Cs brought back big man Xavier Tillman on a fully guaranteed two-year deal, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. His deal will be for two years, $4,784,367.

Tillman played valuable minutes for the Celtics in the NBA Finals, filling in for an injured Kristaps Porzingis and excelling in his role.

In Game 3 of the Finals, Tillman blocked Luka Doncic twice in the same game and nailed his only 3-point attempt of the playoffs. Tillman’s three marked one of the greatest moments of Boston’s Banner 18 season as the bench went absolutely nuts for their beloved teammate. That epic 3-pointer put the Celtics up 13 and helped to pave the way for a 3-0 series lead.

Tillman is a gentle giant with one of the most pleasant personalities on the team. When he takes the court, he bears a striking resemblance to Al Horford. From the way he is built to the way he moves around the court, Tillman is as close as it gets to a Horford clone.

Tillman’s versatility as a defender also mirrors Big Al. As he showcased in his electric Game 3, Tillman boasts a Horford-esque ability to switch onto smaller guards on defense. With this latest signing, the Celtics have retained an embarrassment of backup-center riches. Tillman, newly resigned Luke Kornet, and newly extended Neemias Queta can all play key roles while Porzingis misses time early next season.

Boston Celtics will run it back with most of the Banner 18 squad

The Celtics have accomplished something very rare in today’s NBA. After bringing back their depth bigs and giving new long-term contracts to Jayson Tatum and Derrick White, the 2024 champions will run it back with at least 13 of the 15 players who just raised Banner 18. 

As of now, the only new additions to the Celtics roster are their two new draft picks Baylor Scheierman and Anton Watson. It remains to be seen whether Watson will secure a standard roster spot or a two-way contract. Boston may also bring back unrestricted free agent Oshae Brissett.

Brad Stevens has once again shown his prowess as a general manager. After all, he is the reigning NBA Executive of the Year. Stevens has shown total commitment to maintaining the depth that allowed Boston to win 64 games last season while regularly resting starters in spurts throughout the year.

After Boston’s championship parade, Tillman hinted that he would be back in Beantown for a run at back-to-back titles. In an interview with Dan Roche of WBZ-TV, Tillman showed love for the Celtics fanbase.

"That (the parade) is in the top five best experiences of my life. Other than the birth of my children and my wedding, that was up there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much love from fans in my life, so that was pretty awesome … I can see why people want to repeat and want to win as many championships as possible once they get their first one. That experience from the fans makes it everything."

- Xavier Tillman

When asked how badly he wanted to repeat, Tillman simply responded with two words: “Very badly.”