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Geoff Burke

Stomping around the NBA as the defending champions can have its benefits. This week, the Boston Celtics took advantage of theirs.

One really cool perk: A team reunion happens near the White House Rose Garden with the president of the United States offering compliments on — of all things — points per possession. Also, Jaylen Brown, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, can basically <a href="https://x.com/FCHWPO/status/1852899451477647599" target=_blank>tweet things into existence</a>, such as asking how he can meet childhood idol Bill Nye the Science Guy, <a href="https://x.com/FCHWPO/status/1860168494198980817" target=_blank>then actually getting him to come to a game</a>. But the luxuries that last season’s accomplishments bestowed on the 2024-25 Celtics do little to nothing for what matters this season: winning again.

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Since the 2017 and 2018 seasons, the NBA has not produced back-to-back champions. Not with the Golden State Warriors, who won in 2022 on the last fumes of their dynasty, nor with the 2023 champion Denver Nuggets, who are still led by the league’s best player, Nikola Jokic. Boston — with superstars Brown and Jayson Tatum still in their 20s and a strong core stocked with veterans Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and [insert name of healthy center here] — would figure to be the favorite again next June.

Yet that’s not a given. Even at 13-3 and with the distinction of being the only team this season <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/11/20/cavaliers-celtics-eastern-conference-showdown/" target=_blank>to knock off the Cleveland Cavaliers</a>, who started 15-0, the Celtics face the same obstacles that tripped up the previous five champs. Specifically, can they recapture the angst?

“I think we still got a lot to prove,” White said Friday night following the Celtics’ closer-than-expected <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/11/22/celtics-wizards-nba-cup-brian-keefe/" target=_blank>108-96 win over the Washington Wizards</a>. “It’s going to be a long season; we just got to enjoy the ups and downs and know what led us to our success last year.”

Rewind to last season and think back to those Celtics players who wouldn’t leave the house without a big ol’ chip on their shoulders. They loved that chip. Carried it everywhere they went. Nursed it to sleep every night. Gave it a name and called it Disrespect. Back then, it was easy to fuel a whole season with that energy because Boston was coming off a disappointing playoff run (<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/05/29/heat-celtics-game-7/" target=_blank>losing in Game 7</a> of the 2023 Eastern Conference finals to the Miami Heat) and feeling the tight squeeze of a narrowing championship window.

So when Boston finally broke through, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/06/17/celtics-mavericks-nba-finals/" target="_blank">defeating the Dallas Mavericks</a> in the NBA Finals in June, it felt like long-delayed relief. As the confetti fell, Tatum found his mother and shouted, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@nbcsboston/video/7381939886732889386" target="_blank">“What they gonna say now?!”</a> then repeated it during his television interview. And after soaking in champagne, Brown rushed to Instagram to mock those who <a href="https://x.com/br_betting/status/1803068861874397643?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1803068861874397643%7Ctwgr%5E1d6c2f4f4f1f90ac585dfdcd4a21229b9ede176f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsportsboston.com%2Fnba%2Fboston-celtics%2Fjaylen-brown-trolls-celtics-doubters-nba-championship%2F622597%2F" target="_blank">bet against Boston.</a>

They replaced the chip with a golden trophy. Yet since then, it seems they’ve tried to manufacture the angst for more motivation this year.

Over the summer, they searched for slights. When Brown didn’t get picked as an injury replacement for the U.S. men’s basketball team — his teammate White was selected instead — he <a href="https://x.com/FCHWPO/status/1817547834578600253" target="_blank">again used social media</a> as an outlet for his emotions. And after Tatum returned from the Paris <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/paris-summer-games-2024/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Olympics</a>, earning a gold medal despite remaining on the bench in two games, Coach Joe Mazzulla <a href="https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/mazzulla-tatums-olympic-benching-a-gift-that-will-motivate-him/651405/?partner=yahoo&amp;cid=yahoo" target="_blank">called it a “gift” </a>that could inspire him to work toward even more success in the future.

Still, when you’re a reigning champ, it’s hard to live in the space of feeling disrespected. Not while listening to President Joe Biden praise your accomplishments, as the Celtics did Thursday <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/biden-hosts-nba-champion-boston-celtics/2024/11/21/7b4cb2af-2662-4eb4-adec-cfe8cf657cf1_video.html" target=_blank>during a visit to the White House</a>.

By Friday night, the love affair continued in downtown D.C. as Celtics fans again commandeered Capital One Arena in support of their favorite team against the Wizards. It wasn’t enough that the color green dotted every section of the arena and that the crowd was pro-Boston all night. Mazzulla felt he needed to contrive some chaos.

“It changed the energy in the arena — did you feel that?” Mazzulla said of picking up a technical foul in the third quarter. “It wasn’t really about energizing the team; I think it was just manipulating the environment. I thought that’s what the environment needed at the time. We just have to make those calls from time to time.”

(There were loud cheers when the player on the home team, Jordan Poole, missed the free throw.)

Mazzulla didn’t need to manipulate a thing Tuesday night when Boston, playing in front of a fired-up home crowd, gave the Cavaliers their first loss. The tactic to stir up the room — his players, really — was necessary Friday night with the Celtics shooting poorly (11 for 46 from the three-point arc overall) in a close game against a team that had lost nine straight.

“Every game’s a little different. Some games [there’s] more energy; some games we just have to find a way,” White said. “Our coach does a good job of just trying to figure out the game and trying to figure out how we are, and put us in the right position to win.”

Maybe because they’re champions, the Celtics can ratchet up the intensity when necessary, as they did in knocking off the best team in the Eastern Conference one night, then get away with playing abysmally against one of the worst teams in the league a few days later. Especially because they’re champs, Brown can get a personal audience with Nye in the back hallway of Capital One Arena and pose for a photo with the man who made learning science a joy for him.

No disrespect to the champs, but maybe this Boston group is so good that it doesn’t need any more made-up motivations.

Associated Press Sports Editors top 10 honors for breaking news and features (category 75,001-175,000), 2016

Society of Professional Journalists "Best In Indiana Journalism Awards:" second place for sports reporting, 2015

Society of Professional Journalists Region 10: second place for column writing, 2013

University of Missouri

Candace Buckner is a sports columnist and critic. She previously covered sports and society from 2020 to 2021, and the Washington Wizards from 2016 until 2020. She joined The Post in August 2016.

Candace Buckner

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The Celtics are searching for extra motivation. They might not need it.

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