Rewind the clock to last summer. The Celtics were coming off a turbulent playoff run that included repeatedly struggling to protect the TD Garden parquet and falling behind 3-0 to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Perhaps, if Jayson Tatum didn’t injure his ankle on the first play of Game 7, Boston would’ve become the first team in NBA history to dig out of an 0-3 hole, but that’s not how its winner-take-all tilt against Miami played out.

That led to team owner Wyc Grousbeck telling Celtics’ president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, that it was time for change.

Out went Marcus Smart and Robert Williams, in came Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.

Boston’s reshaped core helped deliver Banner 18. Of course, there were countless other factors, including the maturation of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, two stars sharing the floor in their primes for the first time after achieving extraordinary success before getting that opportunity, an accomplished group of individuals willing to put what’s best for the collective first, and the growth of second-year head coach Joe Mazzulla, who got to place more of his imprint on the Celtics and build one of the NBA’s top coaching staffs in his first chance to do so.

But after years of being within arms reach of the Larry O’Brien Trophy, including finishing two wins shy of a championship in 2022, not having Marcus Smart and Robert Williams there when Boston reached the mountaintop made the Celtics’ ascent to the summit bittersweet.

“I’m proud to have been able to be in the trenches with them, to know those guys, and to go to work with them every day when I had the chance to do it,” said Smart in a conversation with five-year NBA veteran Theo Pinson on Tidal League’s Run Your Race a few days after a championship parade down Boylston Street, where some of the fans in attendance were sporting his jersey and multiple chants of “Marcus Smart” rang out from a crowd of over a million people.

“I know everybody’s out there expecting me to be salty,” continued Smart. “It’s definitely a bittersweet feeling… It’s definitely tough because I was in those trenches with them. So, to not be able to finish what you started with those guys is definitely tough.”

Tatum felt the same way, expressing to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix a sentiment that is surely felt throughout the Celtics’ organization.

“The toughest part about winning this championship is that Smart isn’t here, and Rob isn’t here,” said Tatum. “But I’m so happy that we have Jrue and KP. Those guys obviously took us to the next level.”

And while the team’s former floor general, who helped Boston reach the playoffs in each of his nine seasons in Kelly green, wishes he was there for the Celtics’ title run, he shared, “As my wife will tell you, I was screaming for those guys when they won it just as much as anybody else because I have love for those guys, and I know the work that they put into it.”

Further Reading

Jrue Holiday, Derrick White Discuss Team USA’s Opening Olympic Win

Steve Kerr Explains Benching Jayson Tatum in Team USA’s Win vs. Serbia

Jayson Tatum Gets Candid about Relationship with Jaylen Brown

Summer League Struggles Offer Valuable Lessons to Jordan Walsh

D.J. MacLeay Shares How Baylor Scheierman Impressed Him in Celtics Win vs. Lakers

Jaylen Brown ‘Wasn’t Surprised’ by Olympic Snub: ‘All the Motivation in the World’

Celtics Rookie Anton Watson Shares Brad Stevens’ Message to Him

Celtics’ Coaching Staff Changes Match Theme of Boston’s Offseason

Celtics Roster, Salary Cap Breakdown After Whirlwind Start to Free Agency

New Details about Plan to Sell Majority Stake in Celtics Revealed

Al Horford, Raising Cane’s, and a Region that Loves Him

On Derrick White and the Fuel for Unprecedented Journey to NBA’s Best Role Player