Jun 21, 2024, 3:30 p.m. ET
The NBA champions, the Celtics, celebrated the NBA championship in a parade through the city of Boston.
BOSTON — The Boston Celtics began the season promising to turn recent playoff heartbreak into happiness.
Eight months later they toasted the franchise’s 18th championship in what has become Boston’s signature celebration, accompanied this Friday by a large crowd in a parade to commemorate the 13th championship won this century by one of the franchises. of the city in the four most important logos in the United States.
The Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox and Bruins have commemorated championships by climbing aboard duck boats, amphibious vehicles often used by tourists.
In Boston, firing up boats for a slow cruise through the city streets has become synonymous with a sense of sporting supremacy. Friday’s parade was the latest component of what has been a salute to the Celtics since they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the NBA Finals on Monday night.
Beginning at TD Garden, the procession lasted approximately 90 minutes, turning first onto Causeway Street in front of the stadium, passing City Hall, through Boston Common, down Boylston Street and ending at the Hynes Convention Center.
Along the way there were plenty of moments for the city to salute a franchise that just broke a tie with rival Los Angeles Lakers for the most titles in league history. Fans marked the moment by hanging from light poles, displaying homemade signs or standing at subway entrances.
“It’s unbelievable. It still doesn’t feel true. But I’m trying to stay in the moment,” All-Star Jayson Tatum said during a pre-parade rally at the Garden.
Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck gave fans an early gift about 90 minutes before the trade began.
He was attempting to drive to the arena with the Larry O’Brien Trophy and the newly created 2024 championship banner along with his wife, Emilia Fazzalari, and their daughter.
They couldn’t get through due to traffic and barricades. So they walked half a mile down Causeway Street, passing a sea of fans carrying the trophy and banner.
Inside the Garden, the demonstration included players and their families, members of the Celtics organization, stadium staff, season ticket holders and guests, including Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
After celebrating in the locker room Monday night by spraying champagne and posing for photos with the trophy, the team flew to Miami for a private party.
When the Celtics returned on Wednesday, coach Joe Mazzulla brought the party to the people, allowing fans to see the trophy up close (and in some cases touch it) as he carried it through Boston’s famous North End.
“I drove from Ohio (Wednesday) because we were going to the parade,” Celtics fan Jason Hawkins told Boston’s ABC affiliate WCVB-TV. “I touched the trophy, man. I have video of this.”
The gold basketball was on display for all to see Friday as players, flanked by Celtics staff and family members, waved and interacted with fans.
The Celtics broke up every meeting this season by saying, “Together.”
Jaylen Brown indicated this Friday that the theme of this year’s team was unity.
“Whatever it took for us to win, that’s what I was willing to do,” Brown said.
As much as the day was a celebration of that team-first mantra that Mazzulla espoused this season, it was also the culmination of the mission that stars Brown and Tatum began after each was selected third overall: Brown in 2016 and Tatum one year later.
The duo reached four conference finals and one NBA Finals (a loss to the Golden State Warriors in 2022) before finally reaching the top of the league. Brown earned Finals MVP honors, which he said also belonged to his “partner in crime.”
While the city had to wait nearly two decades for this celebration, the Celtics are in a strong position to try to become the first back-to-back NBA champions since the Warriors in 2018.
All five starters (Tatum, Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis) are under contract for next season. Having already secured long-term extensions with Brown, Holiday and Porzingis, the Celtics are expected to do the same with Tatum and White this summer.
Reserve Luke Kornet didn’t let fans forget the Celtics’ title history, leading fans in a one-to-18 count at the end of the parade route.
Their message to the city is clear: keep the duck boats fueled.
