Many are looking at the Boston Celtics as the ones responsible for the Philadelphia 76ers creating a title contender with Jaylen Brown and LeBron James aboard. It's certainly a gray area, but what's interesting about this situation is that it may have never started had it not been for Mike Muscala.
It's been three years, but it would be surprising if the Celtics fanbase remembers Muscala. He was their, ahem, "prized" mid-season acquisition in 2023, though he was added primarily just to give more cushion to their frontcourt rotation. Honestly, they could have done worse.
That's it as far as what's to know about his Celtics legacy. As for how he impacted everything that's gone down with Brown and James, well, it all started with him hitting a game-winning three in the bubble that helped the Sixers get OKC's pick that led to Maxey the following draft.
I'll let this tweet explain the rest.
Mike Muscala hit this three in the bubble to move the Thunder’s 2020 pick owed to Philly outside of the top 20 protection zone
— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) July 24, 2026
That pick was Tyrese Maxey
Maxey made the Sixers competitive enough that they were able to bring in Paul George
Who then was dealt for Jaylen Brown…
This glosses over some key details. Maxey made the Sixers an appealing destination even in their dark days, but George also joined them because they gave him the money the Los Angeles Clippers refused to. If the Clippers had given it to him, he would have stayed in LA.
Still, Maxey's appeal was legitimate, which led to Brown, and by extension, LeBron. It's these crazy dominoes that lead to these situations. No one knows if this will work out, but it makes all the sense in the world for Philadelphia to flip that coin.
Crazy dominoes have affected the Celtics too
That's right, even Boston has seen the craziest of dominoes lead to the luckiest of outcomes for them. Did you know that it it hadn't been for Kendrick Perkins, the Celtics would have never gotten their hands on Derrick White.
Check it out: Perkins (who was acquired on draft night) was traded for Jeff Green, who was then traded for a Memphis Grizzlies pick that became Romeo Langford, who was then used in Boston's deal to get White.
It's very possible Boston could have used another draft asset or young player to get White, but the fact remains that if Perkins indirectly led to White down the line. Boston got two titles and four NBA Finals appearances between the two of them.
Sometimes, that's just how things work out in the NBA. For Philadelphia, it's even crazier that the bubble led to their current predicament six years later, but it also goes to show how important patience truly is.
Here's to hoping fans can have that same patience for the Celtics.
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