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With a dominant win versus the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics have officially clinched the No. 1 overall seed and home-court advantage in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1775708644299952316
This win marked Boston’s 60th win this season, their first 60-win season in 15 years. This last occurred during the 2008-2009 season where the team finished with a record of 62-20.
“It’s an honor,” Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said about the team milestone, “It’s a blessing. To be on a 60-win team, there’s a lot of work that went into that. Especially, after coming up short last season, responding, coming back, and not skipping any steps. I think we’re on track. When the playoffs start it’s back to square one.”
60 and counting ☘️ pic.twitter.com/E6qAMKCGXN
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 4, 2024
Last Season
The Celtics did come up short last season. They fell to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. Boston’s regular season record was 57-25, coming into the playoffs as a No. 2 seed. The Miami Heat were seeded at No. 8.
After the season the Celtics engaged in a few major trades. The first was the trade of Marcus Smart for Kristaps Porzingis, who has now proven to work well alongside star guards Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Additionally, the team traded away Robert Williams III and Malcolm Brogdon for Jrue Holiday.
This Season
The Celtics now finish the NBA regular season with the best overall record. Not so close behind are the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves who both hold records of 53-24.
The team currently has the best offensive ranking and the No. 3 defensive ranking in the league. This makes them the only team in the NBA to be ranked in the top five on both ends of the floor.
Looking Ahead
Boston looks ahead in hopes of redeeming themselves from last year’s playoff loss.
“We want to hang a banner,” guard Jayson Tatum said, “We can’t skip steps. Winning 60-plus games, clinching the best record in the league, it’s a big deal. But, you know, you are going to have to win some games on the road in the playoffs regardless to do what you want to do.”
