The Boston Celtics have recently seen their title hopes skyrocket since welcoming Jayson Tatum back to the court after he spent the majority of the season working his way back from a torn Achilles tendon. While it's going to take some time for Tatum to find his way, there's reason to believe that the C's are a legitimate title contender now that he's back in action.
One guy who knows firsthand what Boston is capable of when it is fully healthy is one of its former guards, Nik Stauskas. After spending time with the team during its run to the 2022 NBA Finals, Stauskas is quite familiar with the team's current crop of players. In an interview with Casino Guru, Stauskas provided NESN with exclusive comments on how the Celtics managed to be so successful in Tatum's absence this season.
“I just think they've built that core, with a real championship culture and belief in themselves," Stauskas said to NESN. "A lot of credit needs to go the way of Joe Mazzulla as well and Brad Stevens. Again, there's something to be said about organizations holding themselves to a certain standard and building that culture from within, and I think Boston has done it the right way.”
Boston has a 43-22 record currently, but besides its three most recent games, all of that came without Tatum on the floor. That says a lot about the core group of players that were on the team when Stauskas was in town, with that group consisting of guys like Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard. Without them leading the charge, Tatum's absence surely would have been felt to a much greater degree.
Defining a championship culture can be tough, but Stauskas experienced the first stage of that culture being built back in 2022. It's been tough to ignore it throughout the Celtics' 2025-26 campaign, and if all goes according to plan, it will be on full display throughout the playoffs.
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