The 2021–22 Boston Celtics season was the 76th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Following the Celtics' first-round exit to the Brooklyn Nets in five games from the previous season, Danny Ainge retired from his role as General Manager, and Brad Stevens was promoted to be the next President of Basketball Operations.[1] The Celtics then hired Brooklyn Nets assistant Ime Udoka as the next head coach on June 28, 2021, in what was his only season as head coach before being suspended for violating team rules in September 2022 and later being replaced midway through the 2022–23 season.[2]
The Celtics began the season with an 18–21 record but began a turnaround in January and finished with a 51–31 record and the #2-seed in the Eastern Conference.[3][4][5] With the Portland Trail Blazers missing the playoffs for the first time since 2013, the Celtics now hold the longest active playoff streak, with consecutive appearances since 2015.[6] They won the Atlantic Division for the first time since 2017. Multiple Celtics received NBA honors during the season. Jayson Tatum was selected to the All-NBA First Team and was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP, while Marcus Smart was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Robert Williams III joined him on the NBA All-Defensive Team.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics swept the Brooklyn Nets in four games, which was their third series sweep in four seasons. In the second round, they faced the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks for the third time in five seasons and defeated them in seven games.[7] In the final game of the series, the Celtics made 22 3-pointers, a record for the most ever in a Game 7. The Celtics then advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fourth time in six years to face the top-seeded Miami Heat. In the previous two Conference finals matchups between the two teams, the Celtics lost both times: in 2012 in seven games and in 2020 in six. This time, they beat the Heat in seven games—including three wins on the road—to advance to the 2022 NBA Finals, their first Finals appearance since 2010. The Celtics faced the Golden State Warriors in a rematch of the 1964 Finals in an attempt to win their 18th championship and first since 2008, but lost in six games despite taking a 2–1 lead.[8]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Club |
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| 2 | 45 | Juhann Begarin | SG |  France
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Paris Basketball |
The Celtics currently carry one second-round pick in the draft.[9]
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Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
| Atlantic Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Boston Celtics | 51 | 31 | .622 | – | 28–13 | 23–18 | 9–7 | 82 |
| x – Philadelphia 76ers | 51 | 31 | .622 | – | 24–17 | 27–14 | 6–10 | 82 |
| x – Toronto Raptors | 48 | 34 | .585 | 3.0 | 24–17 | 24–17 | 10–6 | 82 |
| x − Brooklyn Nets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 7.0 | 20–21 | 24–17 | 10–6 | 82 |
| New York Knicks | 37 | 45 | .451 | 14.0 | 17–24 | 20–21 | 5–11 | 82 |
| Eastern Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c – Miami Heat * | 53 | 29 | .646 | – | 82 |
| 2 | y – Boston Celtics * | 51 | 31 | .622 | 2.0 | 82 |
| 3 | y – Milwaukee Bucks * | 51 | 31 | .622 | 2.0 | 82 |
| 4 | x – Philadelphia 76ers | 51 | 31 | .622 | 2.0 | 82 |
| 5 | x – Toronto Raptors | 48 | 34 | .585 | 5.0 | 82 |
| 6 | x – Chicago Bulls | 46 | 36 | .561 | 7.0 | 82 |
| 7 | x − Brooklyn Nets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 9.0 | 82 |
| 8 | pi − Cleveland Cavaliers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 9.0 | 82 |
| 9 | x − Atlanta Hawks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 10.0 | 82 |
| 10 | pi − Charlotte Hornets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 10.0 | 82 |
| 11 | New York Knicks | 37 | 45 | .451 | 16.0 | 82 |
| 12 | Washington Wizards | 35 | 47 | .427 | 18.0 | 82 |
| 13 | Indiana Pacers | 25 | 57 | .305 | 28.0 | 82 |
| 14 | Detroit Pistons | 23 | 59 | .280 | 30.0 | 82 |
| 15 | Orlando Magic | 22 | 60 | .268 | 31.0 | 82 |
| 2021 preseason game log Total: 2–2 (home: 2–0; road: 0–2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason: 2–2 (home: 2–0; road: 0–2)
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| 2021–22 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–22 game log Total: 51–31 (home: 28–13; road: 23–18) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 2–4 (home: 0–2; road: 2–2)
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November: 9–6 (home: 5–2; road: 4–4)
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December: 6–9 (home: 5–3; road: 1–6)
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January: 10–6 (home: 7–3; road: 3–3)
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February: 9–2 (home: 3–1; road: 6–1)
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March: 11–3 (home: 6–2; road: 5–1)
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April: 4–1 (home: 2–0; road: 2–1)
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| 2021–22 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 playoff game log Total: 14–10 (home: 6–6; road: 8–4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First Round: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0)
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Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (home: 2–2; road: 2–1)
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Conference Finals: 4–3 (home: 1–2; road: 3–1)
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NBA Finals: 2–4 (home: 1–2; road: 1–2)
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| 2021–22 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Williams | 77 | 21 | 24.4 | .475 | .411 | .905 | 3.6 | 1.0 | .5 | .7 | 7.8 |
| Jayson Tatum | 76 | 76 | 35.9 | .453 | .353 | .853 | 8.0 | 4.4 | 1.0 | .6 | 26.9 |
| Marcus Smart | 71 | 71 | 32.3 | .418 | .331 | .793 | 3.8 | 5.9 | 1.7 | .3 | 12.1 |
| Payton Pritchard | 71 | 2 | 14.1 | .429 | .412 | 1.000 | 1.9 | 2.0 | .4 | .1 | 6.2 |
| Al Horford | 69 | 69 | 29.1 | .467 | .336 | .842 | 7.7 | 3.4 | .7 | 1.3 | 10.2 |
| Jaylen Brown | 66 | 66 | 33.6 | .473 | .358 | .758 | 6.1 | 3.5 | 1.1 | .3 | 23.6 |
| Robert Williams III | 61 | 61 | 29.6 | .736 | .000 | .722 | 9.6 | 2.0 | .9 | 2.2 | 10.0 |
| Aaron Nesmith | 52 | 3 | 11.0 | .396 | .270 | .808 | 1.7 | .4 | .4 | .1 | 3.8 |
| Dennis Schröder† | 49 | 25 | 29.2 | .440 | .349 | .848 | 3.3 | 4.2 | .8 | .1 | 14.4 |
| Romeo Langford† | 44 | 5 | 16.5 | .429 | .349 | .588 | 2.4 | .4 | .5 | .4 | 4.7 |
| Josh Richardson† | 44 | 0 | 24.7 | .443 | .397 | .859 | 2.8 | 1.5 | .8 | .5 | 9.7 |
| Enes Kanter Freedom | 35 | 1 | 11.7 | .526 | .400 | .857 | 4.6 | .2 | .1 | .4 | 3.7 |
| Derrick White† | 26 | 4 | 27.4 | .409 | .306 | .853 | 3.4 | 3.5 | .6 | .6 | 11.0 |
| Sam Hauser | 26 | 0 | 6.1 | .460 | .432 | 1.1 | .4 | .0 | .1 | 2.5 | |
| Daniel Theis† | 21 | 6 | 18.7 | .598 | .357 | .688 | 4.7 | 1.0 | .4 | .7 | 7.9 |
| Bruno Fernando† | 20 | 0 | 2.9 | .500 | 1.000 | .800 | .8 | .2 | .0 | .2 | 1.0 |
| Juancho Hernangómez† | 18 | 0 | 5.3 | .185 | .167 | .667 | 1.4 | .2 | .2 | .1 | 1.1 |
| Jabari Parker | 12 | 0 | 9.3 | .474 | .500 | 1.000 | 2.3 | .5 | .3 | .1 | 4.4 |
| Luke Kornet† | 12 | 0 | 7.1 | .571 | .000 | .667 | 2.1 | .7 | .3 | .2 | 2.2 |
| Brodric Thomas | 12 | 0 | 5.0 | .444 | .222 | .600 | .8 | .9 | .1 | .1 | 1.8 |
| Malik Fitts† | 8 | 0 | 3.5 | .600 | .500 | .9 | .6 | .0 | .0 | 1.9 | |
| Nik Stauskas† | 6 | 0 | 2.5 | .333 | .333 | .500 | .0 | .2 | .0 | .0 | 1.2 |
| Kelan Martin† | 3 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | .7 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | |
| Matt Ryan | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | .200 | .200 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 | .0 | 3.0 | |
| Juwan Morgan† | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | |||
| Justin Jackson† | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | 1.000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 | |
| Joe Johnson | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | 1.000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 | ||
| C. J. Miles | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jayson Tatum | 24 | 24 | 41.0 | .426 | .393 | .800 | 6.7 | 6.2 | 1.2 | .9 | 25.6 |
| Jaylen Brown | 24 | 24 | 38.3 | .470 | .373 | .763 | 6.9 | 3.5 | 1.1 | .4 | 23.1 |
| Grant Williams | 24 | 5 | 27.3 | .433 | .393 | .808 | 3.8 | .8 | .3 | .8 | 8.6 |
| Payton Pritchard | 24 | 0 | 12.9 | .422 | .333 | .667 | 1.9 | 1.6 | .3 | .1 | 4.8 |
| Al Horford | 23 | 23 | 35.4 | .523 | .480 | .778 | 9.3 | 3.3 | .8 | 1.3 | 12.0 |
| Derrick White | 23 | 3 | 25.4 | .364 | .313 | .824 | 3.0 | 2.7 | .9 | .6 | 8.5 |
| Marcus Smart | 21 | 21 | 36.2 | .405 | .350 | .806 | 4.5 | 5.9 | 1.2 | .2 | 15.4 |
| Robert Williams III | 17 | 15 | 23.2 | .679 | .000 | .893 | 6.2 | 1.0 | .7 | 2.2 | 7.7 |
| Daniel Theis | 16 | 5 | 12.5 | .588 | .214 | .750 | 3.3 | .7 | .3 | .5 | 4.3 |
| Aaron Nesmith | 15 | 0 | 3.5 | .235 | .091 | .750 | 1.0 | .2 | .1 | .3 | .8 |
| Nik Stauskas | 13 | 0 | 1.8 | .250 | .300 | 1.000 | .3 | .3 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 |
| Luke Kornet | 9 | 0 | 2.1 | .750 | 1.000 | .6 | .1 | .0 | .0 | .8 | |
| Malik Fitts | 9 | 0 | 1.8 | .750 | 1.000 | .2 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .9 | |
| Juwan Morgan | 9 | 0 | 1.7 | .000 | .000 | .500 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .1 |
| Sam Hauser | 7 | 0 | 2.1 | .250 | .333 | 1.000 | .1 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .7 |
| June 18, 2021[10] | To Boston Celtics Moses Brown Al Horford 2023 OKC second-round pick |
To Oklahoma City Thunder Kemba Walker 2021 BOS first-round pick 2025 BOS second-round pick |
| July 31, 2021[11] | To Boston Celtics Josh Richardson |
To Dallas Mavericks Moses Brown |
| August 7, 2021[12] | To Boston Celtics Kris Dunn (from Atlanta) Bruno Fernando (from Atlanta) 2023 POR second-round pick (from Atlanta) |
To Sacramento Kings Tristan Thompson (from Boston) |
| To Atlanta Hawks Delon Wright (from Sacramento) | ||
| August 17, 2021[13] | To Boston Celtics Cash considerations |
To New York Knicks Evan Fournier (sign and trade) 2022 CHA second-round pick 2023 BOS second-round pick |
| September 15, 2021[14] | To Boston Celtics Juancho Hernangómez |
To Memphis Grizzlies Kris Dunn Carsen Edwards 2026 right to swap second-round picks |
| January 19, 2022[15] | To Boston Celtics Bol Bol (from Denver) PJ Dozier (from Denver) |
To San Antonio Spurs Juancho Hernangómez (from Boston) 2028 DEN second-round pick (from Denver) Cash considerations (from Boston) Cash considerations (from Denver) |
| To Denver Nuggets Bryn Forbes (from San Antonio) | ||
| February 10, 2022[16] | To Boston Celtics Future second-round pick |
To Orlando Magic Bol Bol PJ Dozier Future second-round pick Cash considerations |
| February 10, 2022[17] | To Boston Celtics Derrick White |
To San Antonio Spurs Romeo Langford Josh Richardson 2022 BOS first-round pick 2028 right to swap first-round picks |
| February 10, 2022[18] | To Boston Celtics Daniel Theis |
To Houston Rockets Bruno Fernando Enes Freedom Dennis Schröder |
| Player | Signed | Former Team |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Hauser[19] | August 13 | Virginia |
| Enes Freedom[20] | Portland Trail Blazers | |
| Dennis Schröder[21] | Los Angeles Lakers | |
| Brodric Thomas[22] | October 18 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Player | Reason | New Team |
|---|---|---|
| Semi Ojeleye[23] | Free agency | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Tacko Fall[24] | Free agency | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Tremont Waters[25] | Free agency | Milwaukee Bucks |
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| Culture and lore |
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