The 2023–24 Boston Celtics season was the franchise's 78th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The Celtics won the East Group C in the inaugural 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament by going in the group stage and winning a three-way tiebreaker via point differential. However, they were eliminated from the tournament with a loss to the Indiana Pacers in the quarterfinals.
The Celtics had the best record () in the NBA and proceeded through the playoffs in dominant fashion. They defeated the Dallas Mavericks in five games during the NBA Finals, winning the franchise's first championship since 2008, and 18th championship in team history, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers to hold the NBA record for most championships. The result was the most dominant Celtics championship run since 1965, with only three losses in the playoffs and a season total of 80 wins, the second-best mark in franchise history.
Following their championship victory, multiple commentators considered the 2023–24 Celtics to be among the greatest teams in NBA history. With a playoff record of 16–3, the Celtics were second only to the 2016–17 Golden State Warriors for the best postseason record since all four NBA playoff rounds became best-of-seven contests in 2003. This record, however, would only be matched two years later by the New York Knicks.
The Celtics drew an average home attendance of 19,156 in 41 home games in the 2023–24 NBA season.
Season summary This was the Celtics' first season without veteran Celtic and point guard Marcus Smart since 2014. In June 2023, he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team trade to acquire forward Kristaps Porziņģis of the Washington Wizards. On October 1, 2023, the Celtics sent guard Malcolm Brogdon, center/forward Robert Williams III, a protected 2024 first-round pick (acquired from the Golden State Warriors), and an unprotected 2029 first-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for two-time All-Star guard Jrue Holiday. On March 14, 2024, the Celtics became the first team to clinch a playoff berth with their 117–107 victory over the Phoenix Suns and the Philadelphia 76ers' 114–105 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Six days later, the Celtics won the Atlantic Division championship for the third consecutive season, following a 122–119 victory over the Bucks during a 7-game winning streak. On March 23, the Celtics clinched the #1-seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2017 after they beat the Chicago Bulls.
On April 3, 2024, the Celtics defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 135–100 victory, clinching the best record in the NBA and securing a home-court advantage throughout the entire playoffs for the first time since 2008. It was also the first time the Celtics won 60 or more regular season games since 2009. The Celtics finished the season with a 64–18 record, 14 games higher than the second-place team in the Atlantic Division and the entire Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks.
In the playoffs, the Celtics dispatched the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers in five games each, and swept the Indiana Pacers to reach their second NBA Finals in three years, where the Celtics faced the Dallas Mavericks. Upon reaching the Finals, Porziņģis returned to action after missing nearly the entire playoffs up until that point. However, he suffered what was described as a "rare" ankle injury in Game 2 and missed the next two games. The Celtics raced out to a second consecutive 3–0 series lead. After a 122–84 blowout loss in Game 4, they returned to Boston and won Game 5 to win their first title since 2008. The Celtics are the first team to have the best regular-season record and win the title since the Golden State Warriors in 2017. Draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityCollege235Julian PhillipsSmall forwardTennessee The Celtics had a second-round pick in the 2023 NBA draft; the pick originally belonged to the Portland Trail Blazers and acquired from the Atlanta Hawks in 2021. The team traded their first-round pick to the Indiana Pacers as part of a deal to acquire Malcolm Brogdon, as the pick lost its top-12 protection when Boston made the 2023 NBA playoffs.
The Celtics used their only pick to select Julian Phillips, subsequently trading his rights to the Washington Wizards as part of the three-team trade for Kristaps Porziņģis. Phillips was then traded again on draft night to the Chicago Bulls.
Roster
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Standings
Division
Conference
Game log
Preseason
|- style="background:#cfc" | 1 | October 8 | Philadelphia | | Payton Pritchard (26) | Jayson Tatum (10) | Jayson Tatum (5) | TD Garden19,156 | 1–0 |- style="background:#fcc" | 2 | October 9 | @ New York | | Payton Pritchard (21) | Hauser, Stevens (8) | Payton Pritchard (5) | Madison Square Garden19,512 | 1–1 |- style="background:#cfc" | 3 | October 11 | @ Philadelphia | | Payton Pritchard (17) | Brissett, Mykhailiuk (6) | Derrick White (4) | Wells Fargo Center20,497 | 2–1 |- style="background:#cfc" | 4 | October 17 | New York | | Jayson Tatum (28) | Porziņģis, Tatum (8) | Jaylen Brown (6) | TD Garden19,156 | 3–1 |- style="background:#cfc | 5 | October 19 | @ Charlotte | | Jaylen Brown (20) | Kristaps Porziņģis (12) | Payton Pritchard (8) | Spectrum Center12,590 | 4–1
Regular season This became the first regular season where all the NBA teams competed in a mid-season tournament setting due to the implementation of the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament.
|- style="background:#cfc" | 1 | October 25 | @ New York | | Jayson Tatum (34) | Jayson Tatum (11) | Jaylen Brown (5) |Madison Square Garden19,812 | 1–0 |- style="background:#cfc" | 2 | October 27 | Miami | | Derrick White (28) | Holiday, Horford (10) | Jrue Holiday (7) |TD Garden19,156 | 2–0 |- style="background:#cfc" | 3 | October 30 | @ Washington | | Jaylen Brown (36) | Sam Hauser (8) | Derrick White (8) | Capital One Arena17,898 | 3–0
|- style="background:#cfc" | 4 | November 1 | Indiana | | Jayson Tatum (30) | Jayson Tatum (12) | Payton Pritchard (9) | TD Garden19,156 | 4–0 |- style="background:#cfc" | 5 | November 4 | @ Brooklyn | | Jayson Tatum (32) | Jayson Tatum (11) | Jrue Holiday (10) | Barclays Center17,983 | 5–0 |- style="background:#fcc" | 6 | November 6 | @ Minnesota | | Jayson Tatum (32) | Jrue Holiday (11) | Jrue Holiday (6) | Target Center18,024 | 5–1 |- style="background:#fcc" | 7 | November 8 | @ Philadelphia | | Kristaps Porziņģis (29) | Jayson Tatum (15) | Jayson Tatum (6) | Wells Fargo Center19,953 | 5–2 |- style="background:#cfc" | 8 | November 10 | Brooklyn | | Jaylen Brown (28) | Jrue Holiday (12) | Jrue Holiday (9) | TD Garden19,156 | 6–2 |- style="background:#cfc" | 9 | November 11 | Toronto | | Jaylen Brown (29) | Horford, Porziņģis (7) | Jrue Holiday (7) | TD Garden19,156 | 7–2 |- style="background:#cfc" | 10 | November 13 | New York | | Jayson Tatum (35) | Jrue Holiday (7) | Jayson Tatum (7) | TD Garden19,156 | 8–2 |- style="background:#cfc" | 11 | November 15 | @ Philadelphia | | Jayson Tatum (29) | Jrue Holiday (10) | Jayson Tatum (6) | Wells Fargo Center19,773 | 9–2 |- style="background:#cfc" | 12 | November 17 | @ Toronto | | Jaylen Brown (23) | Kristaps Porziņģis (12) | Holiday, Porziņģis, White (5) | Scotiabank Arena19,800 | 10–2 |- style="background:#cfc" | 13 | November 19 | @ Memphis | | Kristaps Porzinģis (26) | Jayson Tatum (9) | Jayson Tatum (5) | FedExForum17,798 | 11–2 |- style="background:#fcc" | 14 | November 20 | @ Charlotte | | Jayson Tatum (45) | Jayson Tatum (13) | Jayson Tatum (6) | Spectrum Center19,134 | 11–3 |- style="background:#cfc" | 15 | November 22 | Milwaukee | | Jaylen Brown (26) | Jayson Tatum (11) | Jaylen Brown (8) | TD Garden19,156 | 12–3 |- style="background:#fcc" | 16 | November 24 | @ Orlando | | Jayson Tatum (26) | Luke Kornet (6) | Derrick White (4) | Amway Center18,846 | 12–4 |- style="background:#cfc" | 17 | November 26 | Atlanta | | Jayson Tatum (34) | Al Horford (15) | Derrick White (11) | TD Garden19,156 | 13–4 |- style="background:#cfc" | 18 | November 28 | Chicago | | Jaylen Brown (30) | Sam Hauser (10) | Jrue Holiday (9) | TD Garden19,156 | 14–4
|- style="background:#cfc" | 19 | December 1 | Philadelphia | | Tatum, White (21) | Jayson Tatum (7) | Jrue Holiday (6) | TD Garden19,156 | 15–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 20 | December 4 | @ Indiana | | Jayson Tatum (32) | Jayson Tatum (12) | Derrick White (8) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse16,693 | 15–5 |- style="background:#cfc" | 21 | December 8 | New York | | Derrick White (30) | Al Horford (10) | Holiday, Tatum (5) | TD Garden19,156 | 16–5 |- style="background:#cfc" | 22 | December 12 | Cleveland | | Brown, Tatum (25) | Tatum, Porziņģis (10) | Jayson Tatum (5) | TD Garden19,156 | 17–5 |- style="background:#cfc" | 23 | December 14 | Cleveland | | Jayson Tatum (27) | Jayson Tatum (11) | Jaylen Brown (5) | TD Garden19,156 | 18–5 |- style="background:#cfc" | 24 | December 15 | Orlando | | Jayson Tatum (30) | Sam Hauser (7) | Derrick White (8) | TD Garden19,156 | 19–5 |- style="background:#cfc" | 25 | December 17 | Orlando | | Jaylen Brown (31) | Kristaps Porziņģis (10) | Jaylen Brown (6) | TD Garden19,156 | 20–5 |- style="background:#fcc" | 26 | December 19 | @ Golden State | | Derrick White (30) | Al Horford (12) | Brown, Tatum (7) | Chase Center18,064 | 20–6 |- style="background:#cfc" | 27 | December 20 | @ Sacramento | | Brown, White (28) | Kristaps Porziņģis (9) | Jrue Holiday (10) | Golden 1 Center17,874 | 21–6 |- style="background:#cfc" | 28 | December 23 | @ L.A. Clippers | | Jayson Tatum (30) | Neemias Queta (12) | Jrue Holiday (7) | Crypto.com Arena19,370 | 22–6 |- style="background:#cfc" | 29 | December 25 | @ L.A. Lakers | | Kristaps Porziņģis (28) | Kristaps Porziņģis (11) | Derrick White (11) | Crypto.com Arena18,997 | 23–6 |- style="background:#cfc" | 30 | December 28 | Detroit | | Kristaps Porziņģis (35) | Jrue Holiday (9) | Jayson Tatum (10) | TD Garden19,156 | 24–6 |- style="background:#cfc" | 31 | December 29 | Toronto | | Jaylen Brown (31) | Jaylen Brown (10) | Derrick White (7) | TD Garden19,156 | 25–6 |- style="background:#cfc" | 32 | December 31 | @ San Antonio | | Jayson Tatum (25) | Kristaps Porziņģis (9) | Payton Pritchard (7) | Frost Bank Center18,886 | 26–6
|- style="background:#fcc" | 33 | January 2 | @ Oklahoma City | | Kristaps Porziņģis (34) | Jayson Tatum (13) | Jayson Tatum (8) | Paycom Center18,203 | 26–7 |- style="background:#cfc" | 34 | January 5 | Utah | | Jayson Tatum (30) | Jayson Tatum (9) | Brown, Tatum (5) | TD Garden19,156 | 27–7 |- style="background:#cfc" | 35 | January 6 | @ Indiana | | Jayson Tatum (38) | Jayson Tatum (13) | Al Horford (8) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse16,693 | 28–7 |- style="background:#fcc" | 36 | January 8 | @ Indiana | | Jaylen Brown (40) | Payton Pritchard (7) | Kristaps Porziņģis (7) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse16,009 | 28–8 |- style="background:#cfc" | 37 | January 10 | Minnesota | | Jayson Tatum (45) | Jaylen Brown (11) | Derrick White (6) | TD Garden19,156 | 29–8 |- style="background:#fcc" | 38 | January 11 | @ Milwaukee | | Payton Pritchard (21) | five players (4) | Porziņģis, Pritchard (4) | Fiserv Forum17,781 | 29–9 |- style="background:#cfc" | 39 | January 13 | Houston | | Jaylen Brown (32) | Jayson Tatum (8) | three players (5) | TD Garden19,156 | 30–9 |- style="background:#cfc" | 40 | January 15 | @ Toronto | | Holiday, White (22) | Jayson Tatum (14) | Jrue Holiday (7) | Scotiabank Arena19,278 | 31–9 |- style="background:#cfc" | 41 | January 17 | San Antonio | | Jayson Tatum (24) | Luke Kornet (9) | Jaylen Brown (5) | TD Garden19,156 | 32–9 |- style="background:#fcc" | 42 | January 19 | Denver | | Derrick White (24) | Al Horford (10) | Tatum, White (5) | TD Garden19,156 | 32–10 |- style="background:#cfc" | 43 | January 21 | @ Houston | | Kristaps Porziņģis (32) | Brown, White (11) | Jaylen Brown (10) | Toyota Center18,055 | 33–10 |- style="background:#cfc" | 44