Where Celtics standouts placed in player rankings ahead of 2024-25 NBA season
Five Celtics players were placed in the top 50 in most top-100 player rankings.
You don’t win an NBA title without many top players. The Celtics certainly proved that to be true last season.
Boston had one of the more dominant seasons in recent memory, recording 64 wins in the regular season before going 16-3 in the playoffs to win the NBA title. Throughout the Celtics’ championship run, they were lauded for their top-end talent, particularly their starting lineup and a key player off the bench.
So, it’s understandable that the Celtics would be well-represented on several annual top player lists ahead of the 2024-25 season. Let’s take a look at where the Celtics’ top players rank among their peers in the league in top 100 player rankings done by ESPN, The Ringer, CBS Sports, and Hoops Hype.
Jayson Tatum
ESPN: 5
The Ringer: 6
CBS Sports: 7
Hoops Hype: 6
Average ranking: 6
After leading the Celtics in points, rebounds, and assists in the postseason en route to a title, it appears that Tatum is viewed as a fringe top-five player. His ranking is actually similar to where he was last at this time, with ESPN ranking him as the No. 6 player in the league and CBS Sports ranking him No. 7 in their respective preseason rankings last year.
Tatum’s stats actually took a bit of a dip in the 2023-24 regular season. Following a 30-point-per-game season in 2022-23, Tatum averaged 26.9 points per game on a 47.1 field goal percentage and a 37.6 3-point percentage during the regular season, adding a career-high 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.
The common discussion surrounding Tatum since the start of the postseason has been his shooting. He made just 42.7 percent of his shots from the field and 28.3 percent of his 3-point attempts in the playoffs. Those shooting struggles continued when he represented Team USA at the Olympics, failing to make a jump shot during the tournament.
Still, Tatum is viewed among the elite of the league.
“With repeated averages in the range of 26 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists a night, coupled with the ability to guard several positions and play more than 70 games a season, Tatum is one of the most reliable stars in the league,” ESPN’s Tim Bontemps wrote of Tatum.
Jaylen Brown
ESPN: 14
The Ringer: 14
CBS Sports: 15
Hoops Hype: 18
Average ranking: 15.3
Brown’s Eastern Conference finals and Finals MVP performances seemingly helped him become a consensus top-20 player in the league. The Celtics’ star showed his two-way prowess between their Eastern Conference finals win over the Pacers and the Finals win over the Mavericks. Offensively, he scored 29.8 points per game against Indiana. Defensively, he helped slow down Luka Doncic in the NBA Finals.
To the surprise of some, Brown wasn’t included on an All-NBA team last season after making second-team All-NBA in 2022-23. Like Tatum, some of his volume stats went down in the regular season as he averaged 23.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. While there were some dramatics over Brown’s snub from Team USA for the Olympics this past summer, it’s pretty clear that he’s established himself as one of the game’s best players.
“He stamped his status with a spectacular playoff run, in which he hit the two biggest shots — the game-tying 3-pointer in the waning seconds of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals and the game-sealing jumper in Game 3 of the Finals — and was named Eastern Conference finals MVP and Finals MVP,” CBS Sports’ Jack Maloney wrote of Brown. “There aren’t so many jokes these days about Brown’s left hand or $300 million contract.”
Jrue Holiday
ESPN: 36
The Ringer: 38
CBS Sports: 32
Hoops Hype: 54
Average ranking: 40
As Tatum and Brown have established themselves as the top two stars on the Celtics, the other three players in their starting lineup are viewed in a similar tier. Holiday had the highest average ranking outside of Brown, with Hoops Hype’s ranking of him bogging down his average a bit.
Holiday didn’t put up the flashiest stats in his first season in Boston, making the biggest sacrifice (at least offensively) of any player in its lineup. He scored just 12.5 points per game during the regular season, but he was efficient, shooting 48 percent of the field and 42.9 percent from deep. He also made second-team All-Defense as he averaged nearly a steal and a block per game.
In the postseason, Holiday’s offensive output went up a bit in the Eastern Conference finals and Finals. He averaged 16.2 points per game over those two series, including a 26-point performance on 11 of 14 shooting in the Celtics’ Game 2 win over the Mavericks in the NBA Finals.
Even though Hoops Hype ranked Holiday lower than most, it still praised the Celtics’ guard.
“Despite now being 34, Holiday remains one of the best defensive guards in the NBA while still being a capable scorer and playmaker when called upon,” Hoops Hype wrote in its assessment of Holiday. “He’s even got an adept off-the-ball slashing game perfect for a team as loaded as Boston’s, as well as spot-up shooting prowess from beyond the arc.”
Derrick White
ESPN: 39
The Ringer: 37
CBS Sports: 36
Hoops Hype: 50
Average ranking: 40.5
White and Holiday seemed to be neck-and-neck with each other in most rankings. More importantly, White wasn’t snubbed this season. Last year, ESPN ranked White outside of its top 100 players.
Well, White proved he was worthy of a top-100 spot and then some in 2023-24. He scored 15.2 points per game, nearly matching a career-high, as he shot 46.1 percent from the field and 39.6 percent from deep. He also averaged a career-high 5.2 assists per game and might have earned himself the moniker Mr. Stonks (steals and blocks), averaging 1.2 blocks and a steal per game. Those defensive stats helped White earn a spot alongside Holiday on the second-team All-Defense.
White continued his stellar play into the postseason, averaging 16.7 points per game. Playing a key role for a title team has likely turned White from arguably one of the league’s most underrated players to the best non-star player in the league.
“The secret is out. White isn’t just for the NBA sickos anymore, he’s for the world. White is a champion now,” The Ringer’s Rob Mahoney wrote. “A gold medalist. The kind of player coaches love, opponents rave about, and stars rely on. There probably wouldn’t be an 18th banner in Boston without White’s Swiss Army knife contributions, as varied as they are timely. There are plenty of versatile players in the modern NBA, but far fewer who know exactly what to do with all that honed-in-the-lab skill.”
Kristaps Porzingis
ESPN: 46
The Ringer: 42
CBS Sports: 40
Hoops Hype: 44
Average ranking: 43
Porzingis’s ranking among the four outlets gives the Celtics five players who are mostly viewed as top-50 players. The Celtics were the only team to hold that honor through the rankings.
Of the Celtics’ five starters, Porzinigs has the lowest average ranking. That might be crazy to think about because Porzingis averaged 20.1 points per game in his first regular season with the Celtics, adding 1.9 blocks and 7.2 rebounds in 29.6 minutes per game.
Porzingis’s injury concerns might have played a role in his lower ranking between himself, Holiday, and White. He only played 57 games last season and missed the majority of the Celtics’ playoff run due to a pair of leg injuries. As Porzingis is set to miss at least the first two months of the regular season, he provided a memorable performance in Boston’s Game 1 win in the NBA Finals. He scored 20 points in just 20 minutes, with 11 of those points coming when he played off the bench in the first quarter.
As Porzingis will have to wait a bit to start Year 2 with the Celtics, it’s already clear that he’s a strong fit for the team.
“When he was healthy, oh boy was he the ultimate weapon,” CBS Sports’ Jasmyn Wimbish wrote. “He’s still a feared rim protector, can knock down 3s at an efficient clip, is a great pick-and-roll partner, and will make smaller defenders pay in mismatch situations. Porzingis had his most efficient year scoring the ball despite the second-fewest shot attempts per game in his career, and despite missing most of Boston’s playoff games, he managed to still make a massive impact when called upon in the Finals.”
Al Horford
ESPN: 96
The Ringer: N/A
CBS Sports: N/A
Hoops Hype: N/A
Horford was the only other player on the Celtics to be included in any of the top-100 player rankings. Even as he turned 38 in June, Horford proved he was still a valuable part of the Celtics last season, especially when Porzingis was sidelined during the postseason. He averaged 9.2 points and seven rebounds in 30.3 minutes per game.
The veteran big saved two of his best performances of the season in a pair of timely moments. He scored 22 points in the Celtics’ elimination game win over the Cavaliers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. In the ensuing round, Horford scored 23 points in the Celtics’ 114-111 win over the Pacers in Game 3.
Eight years after the Celtics signed Horford to a max deal, he’s sill proving his importance to winning.“That Horford, a beloved figure in Boston’s locker room, got back on this list in his age-38 season is a testament to his relentless work ethic as well as the continuing versatility that he brings to the champs,” Bontemps wrote of Horford.
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