The Celtics raise their banner and get their rings, joining the legends there to celebrate them as part of history

With apologies to the rest of the NBA, the Boston Celtics franchise is just a little bit different than everyone else. 

The Lakers have 17 championships, but five of them were won in a different city. The New York Knicks were part of the original 11 BAA franchises that eventually became the NBA, but they only have two championships. 

The Celtics are the only team to have been around since the beginning, not only in the same city but essentially on the same plot of land, while also having this rich of a championship history.

“We've been entrusted with the tradition of this organization,” Joe Mazzulla said. “(We) have a responsibility and an ownership to the city and to the people that came before us. This job isn't what it is if the people before us didn't put the time and the effort into making it what it was. Because of them, we're able to kind of go after stuff and be a part of this … I think the quote that Red (Auerbach) said, the Celtics are a way of life is true. And that's something I don't take lightly."

Bob Cousy was here, in Boston, playing in a less breathable version of this same uniform and far less comfortable shoes before that Auerbach quote was true. Cousy was here, when the Celtics raised their first banner and retired their first numbers, creating the culture we know. And Cousy was here to show this new group of future legends his support, and to make sure they all understood how far back this whole thing goes.

“I got to shake his hand, he said some kind words to me,” Jayson Tatum said. “I mean, he's a legend. Came out in a wheelchair, threw deuces up and everybody went crazy. That really set it off. So, I got to meet and take a picture with Bob Cousy, something that will live forever, I hope.”

When Cousy was 19, the NBA technically didn’t even exist. When Tatum was 19, the Celtics were pinning their hopes of raising their 18th banner on him by selecting him third overall. The trials by fire he faced since that day were played as part of a video montage in the arena ahead of the ring and banner-raising ceremony. The memories were powerful for Tatum.

“The video playing of all the ups and downs of the last eight years was emotional,” he said. “Seeing the banner go up, seeing the legends … It was cool. It was something that we’ll always be bonded with and a night that we’ll always remember. That was special.”

Jaylen Brown felt that same magic. 

“It’s almost like they were passing the torch,” he said. “It was amazing. This is what we set out on the journey to do. My rookie year, when I got drafted, this is what I said I would do: I would go to war for this city. And it’s great to watch that banner get raised.”

As much as the banners look similar, the championship rings have changed a lot. The rings of Cousy’s day looked like something a high school senior would buy from Josten’s. What the Celtics got on Tuesday night was a monster, multi-layered, three-section tower of technological advancement.

“This thing's too big. I don't ... why is it so big? I'm never gonna wear it,” Mazzulla half-joked. “But it's cool to have. That's kind of what I thought.”

Al Horford joked that he couldn't wear his either because he got his ring sized when his finger was swollen after a dislocation. Brown went a little deeper with it. 

“Yeah, I mean, that ring is just an object, right? But it's the everything, the emotions, the heartbreak, the embarrassment, the work, the drive, the dedication," he said. “That's what that ring represents. All of that is like what you feel when you hold something up, you know? So for me, I mean, that's what was going through my mind and it was an amazing feeling.”

You could see it in the faces of the guys comparing their rings at center court. After the game, the players pulled the rings back out to show friends and family members, putting them on their fingers as if they were newly engaged and showing them off to make people jealous. The emotions were a bit overwhelming for Tatum, who was given a mic shortly after getting his ring, and he bellowed to the crowd “let’s do it again!”

“I planned something to say, but I got caught up in the moment,” he said. “I know we not supposed to talk about repeating, but the fans were just so excited, like, f--- it, let's do it again. But after tonight, we gotta put it behind us. We gotta have the same approach as last year.”

Yes, they do have to move on. The rings have been distributed and when the Celtics take the floor to warm up prior to facing Milwaukee next Monday, they can sneak a glance at that shiny new banner up in the rafters. The only way for Tatum to fulfill his promise of doing it again is to repeat all the good habits from last season. 

But for one more night, this Celtics team can sit at home with a well-earned glass of wine as they stare into the emeralds and diamonds. They can be little kids again, thinking back at what this feeling would be. 

They did it. It’s real. This is proof.  

“It was just something I’d been dreaming about for a very, very long time,” Tatum said. “(It’s) a moment that I’ve looked forward to since I got into the league and a moment that I’ve been – before we won, I’d been very, very close to winning a championship and falling short. So to finally get over that hump and finally be a part of opening night ring ceremony, it’s something that I’ve watched every year since I was a kid. It was just a wild moment. Like, I’m a part of it, I’m a part of history, and it was worth the wait."