The Boston Celtics currently possess the NBA’s longest consecutive string of postseason appearances at a total of nine since the last time the Celtics were a lottery team. That happened at the end of the last era of Celtics contention when what was left of the “New Big Three” of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen were traded to the Brooklyn Nets with Jason Terry after Allen had decamped to the Miami Heat.
Somehow, after losing their title core for the haul then-team president Danny Ainge extracted from the Nets as well as their head coach Doc Rivers to the Los Angeles Clippers, a smart hire in Brad Stevens and good lottery luck had Boston out of the hunt for just one season.
Let’s take a look at where each season’s Celtics postseason ended.
Celtics great Bill Russell investigated by FBI in 1960s for civil rights activism https://t.co/pwZROYLosz
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) April 29, 2023
2015: Lost First Round (0-4) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
2016: Lost First Round (2-4) vs. Atlanta Hawks
2017: Lost Eastern Conference Finals (1-4) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
2018: Lost Eastern Conference Finals (3-4) vs. Cavaliers
2019: Lost Eastern Conference Semifinals (1-4) vs. Milwaukee Bucks
2020: Lost Eastern Conference Finals (2-4) vs. Miami Heat
2021: Lost First Round (1-4) vs. Brooklyn Nets
2022: Lost NBA Finals (2-4) vs. Golden State Warriors
2023: ???
