The Boston Celtics won’t be the worst team in the NBA this year, but they’re certainly far removed from the lofty heights of their 2024 championship run.
The team opened its 2025-26 campaign with a 117-116 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at home that culminated in one of the closest endgames possible in the sport.
For Connor Hladick, a lifelong Celtics fan who attended the game, the Celtics’ return means “everything.”
“Expectations are a little bit lower than they have been the last five [to] six years, and I think that’s a good thing,” he said. “I think they’ll have a chip on their shoulder.”
Opening night’s ceremonies were brief. Reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard hyped up the crowd before Michelle Brooks-Thompson, a Springfield, Massachusetts-based Grammy-nominated recording artist and former “The Voice” finalist, performed the national anthem.
Seconds into the game, Neemias Queta sank the first basket of the Celtics’ young season. Jaylen Brown made Boston’s first 3-pointer later on in the period.
Pritchard, Queta and Brown are some examples of players who could see increased roles due to the absence of Celtics centerpiece Jayson Tatum and the offseason departures of key players Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
Boston gave its all in the losing effort. Even so, the team and fans alike sorely miss Tatum, who suffered an Achilles rupture during last year’s playoffs, leading to the Celtics’ elimination at the hands of the New York Knicks. Though Tatum has a chance to return this year, following reports that the Celtics are “cautiously optimistic,” the team is not counting on it.
However, some Celtics fans put a positive spin on the situation.
“I’m excited to see what happens with Tatum out and how they rally around [Head Coach] Joe Mazzulla,” Hladick said.
Marissa Mannello, a Celtics fan who was also in attendance, said she enjoyed seeing Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Derrick White in starting roles.
“I’m excited for there to be an opportunity for us to play more team-oriented basketball,” she said.
Pritchard, Hauser and Queta played the sixth, eighth and 10th most minutes per game, respectively, while coming off the bench last year — but each made the Celtics’ starting five in the season opener. All played more than 20 minutes against Philadelphia, with Pritchard leading the team at 37.
The Celtics’ top scorers were Brown and White, both pitching in 25 points each. The duo may bear a heavier share of the workload this season with Tatum sidelined.
“[The former bench players] are doing all that we can realistically ask out of them,” said Will Speight, a Boston University sophomore and Celtics fan. “If the team is going anywhere, we need more out of Jaylen and Derrick specifically.”
On the other side of the court, the Philadelphia 76ers looked to bounce back from a dreadful 2024-25 season in which they finished 24-58, ranking No. 13 in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia’s former NBA MVP Joel Embiid made his 2025-26 debut after missing significant time in each of the Sixers’ two previous seasons.
“I want to see Embiid play like Embiid,” said Wyatt Sibilia, a Philadelphia fan who attended the game. “I know he’s still got it in him. Pack a couple knee braces on.”
In the end, Embiid scored only four points in 20 minutes on the court.
However, Sibilia did correctly predict a big game for Tyrese Maxey, who dropped 40 points on the Celtics, leading the 76ers in scoring.
Most importantly, VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia’s third-overall draft pick in 2025, made history by scoring 34 points in his NBA debut. It was the most points for a player in his first career NBA game since Wilt Chamberlain put up 43 in 1959.
“That was nasty. Edgecombe is going to be really good,” Speight said. “[The 76ers] got a lot of flack for picking him over Ace Bailey, but I think that’s going to turn out to be a great pick for them.”
Even if the Celtics couldn’t secure the win, Boston’s faithful fans still showed up to support their team as loudly as ever.
“Seeing all the fans, the Celtic green back in the seats and hearing the whole atmosphere, the Garden’s the loudest place,” said Elizabeth LaFlesh, a Boston fan who attended the game.
“The atmosphere is so crazy,” said Nathan Spicer, a BU freshman and 76ers fan who was also a first-time attendee at TD Garden. “The ‘defense’ claps, the booming bass, it was really fun, even from the other side.”
The second half of the game was a dogfight. The Celtics nearly recovered from their deficit, leading to a whiplash of hope and heartbreak for Boston fans.
With under 10 seconds to go in the fourth, Edgecombe missed two free throws, and the Celtics had a chance to steal the lead at the buzzer. But after Pritchard missed two chances to put his team up by one, the 76ers held on to win 117-116, and those dressed in green left in disappointment.
“This team just has plays that make me scream at my TV,” Speight said. “That was certainly one of them.”
Win or lose, both Boston and Philadelphia fans expressed gratitude for the return of NBA basketball.
“I was getting quite bored over the summer. I definitely missed watching basketball every night,” Spicer said.
Hladick, LaFlesh and Speight all added they remain optimistic that the Celtics — even without Tatum — could secure a spot in the playoffs.
“You never know what can happen after that,” Hladick said.
Following a three-game road trip, the Celtics will return to TD Garden to host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.