The Boston Celtics led the Eastern Conference for all but six days during the regular season. They went 16-3 in the postseason, sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals and completing a gentleman's sweep of the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals on Monday night to secure their record 18th championship.
So, the Celtics winning it all wasn't exactly a stunner. In fact, one member of Boston's leadership group felt pretty good about his team's chances before the season even began.
NBC Sports Boston's Abby Chin caught up with Celtics president and COO Rich Gotham during Boston's post-championship locker room celebration Monday night at TD Garden and asked Gotham if there was a moment this season he knew it would all work out for he 2023-24 squad.
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Gotham rewound back to October 1, 2023, when Celtics president of basketball operations acquired Jrue Holiday in a stunning preseason move.
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"Maybe when Brad told me he thought we could get Jrue Holiday," Gotham told Chin, as seen in the video player above. "I was like, 'What?' He was like, 'I think we can (trade for Holiday),' and I was like, 'No, I don't think so. That sounds too good to be true.'"
Holiday became available when the Milwaukee Bucks dealt him to the Portland Trail Blazers in return for Damian Lillard on September 27. Four days later, Stevens pounced, sending reigning Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon and talented big man Robert Williams to Portland for Holiday, who rounded out a formidable top six after Boston's trade for Kristaps Porzingis earlier in the offseason.
"When we brought him in after Kristaps, I was like, 'Oh my God, we're going to be good. We're going to be a problem for everyone else,'" Gotham recalled. "Six players, six starters, eight or nine guys who can all score, who can all shoot, they can all defend, they can all switch. I was like, 'Wow, this might be the best Celtics team I've seen.'"
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Holiday and the C's lived up to Gotham's lofty expectations. The veteran guard was a perfect fit for Boston's lineup, providing elite defense, unselfish offense and invaluable leadership as the lone player on the roster with championship experience. The result was a team that set an NBA record with a 123.2 offensive rating, ranked second in the league in defensive rating (110.6) and finished with the best postseason winning percentage (.842) in franchise history.
"I think the record and the stats and all that back it up," Gotham added. "I don't get hung up on that during the season. You have to win it all for any of that to matter. But when you look back, this was an incredible team. It really was, and I'm so happy for all these guys right now."
Check out Abby Chin's interview with Gotham and many others in the YouTube video below of the best moments from the Celtics' championship celebration.