The Celtics have continued to hum along as one of the best teams in the NBA. Part of Boston’s strength comes from its loaded roster. The C’s brought back virtually their same rotation from the title squad as the front office continues to get praise.
In a recent survey by The Athletic, it asked 40 NBA executives to rank the league’s front offices. Each voter was given a top-5 and points were allocated like MVP voting, with first place getting 10 points, second place getting seven points and so on. The Celtics front office came in second place with 250 points.
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So, despite being reigning champs, the Celtics didn’t come in first place. That honor went to the Thunder front office, which was the runaway favorite with 354 points. Third place went to the Heat with 114 points. Fourth place was the Grizzlies (64 points) and fifth place went to the Timberwolves (54). Rounding out the standings were: the Knicks at sixth (41), Magic at seventh (33), Cavs at eighth (30), Warriors at ninth (21) and Spurs at 10th (14).
The Celtics naturally get the benefit of the doubt considering they’re coming off the 2024 NBA championship. They’re currently 19-5 on the season and second in the East only behind the Cavaliers, who are 21-3. Boston president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was also named the league’s Executive of the Year last season as the Celtics were the best team in the league.
It’s also no surprise to see the Thunder at the top of the rankings. Oklahoma City has done a great job stockpiling talent and draft picks over the past few years as part of its rebuild. The Thunder are currently 19-5 and atop the West standings. They also have some homegrown talent like Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, among others, playing alongside an MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
As The Athletic noted, ownership was also considered by some of the voters. The Celtics are currently up for sale, so there’s some uncertainty there going forward. Plus, this loaded roster is going to get expensive in the coming seasons. So unless new ownership is willing to pay historic luxury tax penalties, the C’s will have to be broken up eventually. Regardless, things are good currently as the Celtics have a real shot to go for back-to-back championships.