The Celtics are already proving to be a destination for ring-hungry free agents (2024)

The Boston Celtics off-season has been all about keeping the band together.

President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens is poised to run it back with the same core that basically went wire-to-wire in the 2023-24 season, owning the NBA’s best regular-season record and stampeding their way to the franchise’s first championship since 2008. But significant financial constraints left them largely unable to make any significant roster changes. Not that they needed any.

So, Stevens opted to hand out lucrative extensions for Jayson Tatum and Derrick White, while also retaining a slew of internal free agents like Luke Kornet, Neemias Queta, and Xavier Tillman. And here’s the thing: for those guys, it wasn’t about the money, but the winning.

That’s according to Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge, who told reporters on Monday (h/t Brian Robb at MassLive) that some of the Celtics’ re-signed players had better financial opportunities in front of them, but chose to stay in Boston for other reasons.

“We had some guys turn down more money other places to come back,” Ainge said. “It feels really good that guys we care about a lot to come back and go for another run.”

The lone holdout in this scenario appears to be Oshae Brissett, who remains a free agent. But it’s hard to begrudge him for trying to maximize the earnings on his next contract, while the proverbial iron is hot for him after winning a championship.

But this bodes well for the Celtics and the idea of luring future free agents that are prioritizing the promise of a championship-caliber team and a deep playoff run. That has long been the biggest draw that Boston could hope for on the open market, since other cities have the advantage in other, non-basketball ways.

MORE: Jayson Tatum becomes newest “2K” cover athlete

However, the Celtics are champions, they’re primed to run the NBA for the next few years, and players are treated like kings and heroes here (except maybe on the radio!). It’s an attractive option for players chasing glory rather than money. This year’s championship has solidified that status.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.

The history of video game covers and Boston athletes

• “Jordan vs. Bird: One on One” (1988)

  ⚾️ Reds It's Time to Retire #19 ⚾️ on X (formerly Twitter): "Tell me how old you are by answering this question:Did you ever play the computer game Jordan vs. Bird? pic.twitter.com/S7zXOgqX5o / X"

  Tell me how old you are by answering this question:Did you ever play the computer game Jordan vs. Bird? pic.twitter.com/S7zXOgqX5o

  The 1988 sequel to “Dr. J vs. Larry Bird” incorporated future GOAT Michael Jordan into the mix, three years before he even won his first NBA championship. Bird had won his three titles with the Celtics by this point, making this game the latest clash of megastars. “Jordan vs. Bird” was the first Nintendo NBA game, released on NES and Game Boy, and later Sega Genesis.

• NHL ’94: Andy Moog

  NHL '94 Podcast on X (formerly Twitter): "A Sunday morning reminder that there are two types of games.1) Games that are NHL '942) Games that wish they were NHL '94 pic.twitter.com/u2oiaue9XK / X"

  A Sunday morning reminder that there are two types of games.1) Games that are NHL '942) Games that wish they were NHL '94 pic.twitter.com/u2oiaue9XK

  This EA Sports title is widely considered one of the greatest hockey games ever made, and still holds up to this day. And it just so happens to feature a Bruins player on the cover, goaltender Andy Moog. That’s not Wayne Gretzky coming in on him, but his Kings linemate at the time, Tomas Sandström. Moog was coming off a 1992-93 season in which he finished fifth in Vezina Trophy voting.

• NBA Live ’99: Antoine Walker

  ClickHole on X (formerly Twitter): "Confronting The Past: EA Just Spent Its Entire E3 Presentation Apologizing For Putting Antoine Walker On The Cover Of 'NBA Live 99' https://t.co/4b0k0c2siH pic.twitter.com/xKyvzY1UaG / X"

  Confronting The Past: EA Just Spent Its Entire E3 Presentation Apologizing For Putting Antoine Walker On The Cover Of 'NBA Live 99' https://t.co/4b0k0c2siH pic.twitter.com/xKyvzY1UaG

  Poor Antoine Walker. He became the butt of the joke for a ClickHole article in 2018, two decades after gracing the cover of EA Sports’ “NBA Live ’99.” But to be fair to the makers of the game, Walker was coming off an excellent 1997-98 season for the Celtics, averaging 22.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game and finishing 12th in MVP voting. He DID have a pretty good career, maybe just not the Hall-of-Fame run that Boston and EA Sports were hoping for at the time.

• NFL GameDay 2003: Tom Brady

  romsjuegos on X (formerly Twitter): "Nfl Gameday 2003 https://t.co/xt9qpiCPsQ pic.twitter.com/KIZ2crN1ga / X"

  Nfl Gameday 2003 https://t.co/xt9qpiCPsQ pic.twitter.com/KIZ2crN1ga

  Now we’re talkin’. Interestingly enough, Brady had just one Super Bowl title to his credit by the time he appeared on this video game cover. But he was coming off a 2002 season in which he led the NFL with 28 touchdown passes – a hilarious thought in itself. Bet many NFL fans thought Brady and the Patriots were a fluke at this point in time.

  See Also

  Caitlin Clark at midseason: 20 games, broken WNBA records ... and about those turnoversJames Posey Career High in 3-Pointers in the Regular Season and His Top 50 GamesNBA Power Rankings: Evaluating every team after the first month of NBA free agency and as trade season heats upEvan Turner Career High in Blocks in the Regular Season and His Top 50 Games

• NBA Inside Drive 2003: Paul Pierce

  BasketBall Video Games 🏀 🎮 on X (formerly Twitter): "NBA Inside Drive 2003 for the Original #Xbox turns 21 today in North America! 🏀🎮 #bballvideogames pic.twitter.com/vk44m64Tfy / X"

  NBA Inside Drive 2003 for the Original #Xbox turns 21 today in North America! 🏀🎮 #bballvideogames pic.twitter.com/vk44m64Tfy

  Only four NBA Inside Drive games were ever made, and exclusively for Microsoft/XBox systems. But Paul Pierce managed to make the cover of the 2002-03 edition, after scoring 26.1 points per game, earning his first career All-Star nod, and taking the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals the previous season.

• MVP Baseball 2005: Manny Ramirez

  NoSoloBot - Video Games on X (formerly Twitter): "MVP Baseball 2005🏢 EA Canada📅 2005🖥 GameCube, PS2, PSP, Windows, Xbox#videogames pic.twitter.com/drVRYDpvWQ / X"

  MVP Baseball 2005🏢 EA Canada📅 2005🖥 GameCube, PS2, PSP, Windows, Xbox#videogames pic.twitter.com/drVRYDpvWQ

  A staple of the PlayStation 2 era, “MVP Baseball 2005” features former Red Sox slugger and reigning World Series MVP Manny Ramirez on the cover, just after the Sox had finally broken their curse. This is widely considered one of the best, most replayable baseball games ever made.

• MLB ’06 The Show: David Ortiz

  Gershon Rabinowitz on X (formerly Twitter): "MLB 06: The Show with David Ortiz on the cover. I was blown away by its representation of the sport and have been playing the series ever since. https://t.co/doQLPNFywH pic.twitter.com/xarT3vfJUe / X"

  MLB 06: The Show with David Ortiz on the cover. I was blown away by its representation of the sport and have been playing the series ever since. https://t.co/doQLPNFywH pic.twitter.com/xarT3vfJUe

  The “MLB” video game series became “The Show” in 2006, and who better to kick off the festivities than Big Papi, himself? David Ortiz was just two years removed from helping the Red Sox break the curse and establish himself as one of the greatest clutch players in the history of sports, and he’d go on to only reinforce that legacy in the years to come. “The Show” is still going strong as a video game franchise, and Ortiz helped launch it.

• MLB ’09 The Show: Dustin Pedroia

  Baseball Time Machine on X (formerly Twitter): "In 2009, Dustin Pedroia appeared on the cover of MLB 09 THE SHOW. In a span of three years, Dustin lived many kids' dreams.2007: Rookie of the Year, World Series Champion2008: AL MVP, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, All-Star selection2009: Video game cover#Pedroia #RedSox #MLB pic.twitter.com/WZAyEkFBe2 / X"

  In 2009, Dustin Pedroia appeared on the cover of MLB 09 THE SHOW. In a span of three years, Dustin lived many kids' dreams.2007: Rookie of the Year, World Series Champion2008: AL MVP, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, All-Star selection2009: Video game cover#Pedroia #RedSox #MLB pic.twitter.com/WZAyEkFBe2

  Dustin Pedroia made the cover of “MLB ’09: The Show” after delivering an MVP season in 2008. He won Rookie of the Year and helped the Red Sox win the World Series the year before. The game featured a classic commercial with Pedroia polishing his MVP trophy.

• NBA 2K9: Kevin Garnett

  SLAM Gaming on X (formerly Twitter): "NBA 2k9 was released 11 years ago today. What's your favorite 2k game? pic.twitter.com/9pXOAbAKvW / X"

  NBA 2k9 was released 11 years ago today. What's your favorite 2k game? pic.twitter.com/9pXOAbAKvW

  This one is almost self-explanatory. Garnett came over to the Celtics in the 2007-08 season and immediately made them the top team in the NBA, going on to win his first career championship. Unless they wanted to give Paul Pierce the nod after winning NBA Finals MVP, Garnett was the clear choice to grace the 2K cover the following season.

• MLB ’12 The Show: Adrian Gonzalez

  👾 🎮 Facts and More Related to Video Games 🎮 👾 on X (formerly Twitter): "Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays, is featured on the cover pf the Canadian releases of MLB 12: The Show. All other releases of the game feature Adrian Gonzalez of the Boston Red Sox instead. pic.twitter.com/fp6TzUm2xn / X"

  Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays, is featured on the cover pf the Canadian releases of MLB 12: The Show. All other releases of the game feature Adrian Gonzalez of the Boston Red Sox instead. pic.twitter.com/fp6TzUm2xn

  When Adrian Gonzalez made the cover of “MLB ’12: The Show”, along with the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista, he was coming off an outstanding first season in Boston: he batted .338, smashed 27 home runs, drove in 117 runs, and led the majors with 213 hits. Unfortunately, that happened to be the infamous “Chicken & Beer” season for the Red Sox, who collapsed out of the playoff race. Gonzalez would end up traded to the Dodgers by the middle of the 2012 season. But at the time of making this video game cover, Gonzalez was a bright star in the Boston sports world.

• NBA 2K12: Larry Bird

  Neil 🏴‍☠️☘️ on X (formerly Twitter): "Larry Bird was on the cover or 2k12 too https://t.co/SjH8K0vkAV pic.twitter.com/keKBB89WlB / X"

  Larry Bird was on the cover or 2k12 too https://t.co/SjH8K0vkAV pic.twitter.com/keKBB89WlB

  The Bird’s back! For “NBA 2K12,” 2K Sports decided to lean in on legends, rather than current stars. The game featured the “NBA’s Greatest” mode, which included several playable classic teams and players from bygone eras, including Larry Bird’s Celtics. Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson were also available cover athletes for this game.

• NHL 15: Patrice Bergeron

  Louis Marchegiano on X (formerly Twitter): "Bergeron retires after 19 seasons -- seen here on the cover of NHL 15. Amazing career. Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/kLWUQohN7T / X"

  Bergeron retires after 19 seasons -- seen here on the cover of NHL 15. Amazing career. Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/kLWUQohN7T

  The Bruins went over 20 years without a prominent cover athlete, until Bergeron broke the curse. He was coming off a 62-point season in 2014, as the Bruins won the Presidents Trophy (they unfortunately flamed out in the second round of the playoffs). And, of course, Bergeron also won the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward.

• Madden NFL 17: Rob Gronkowski

  GeeqShuq on X (formerly Twitter): "7 years ago Madden NFL 17 was released on the #PlayStation3, #PlayStation4, #Xbox360 and #XboxOne pic.twitter.com/GGqwrixgJi / X"

  7 years ago Madden NFL 17 was released on the #PlayStation3, #PlayStation4, #Xbox360 and #XboxOne pic.twitter.com/GGqwrixgJi

  It’s fitting that “Gronk” would be the first tight end to ever land on the “Madden” cover. He was easily the best TE on the planet at the time and had recently won his first Super Bowl with the Patriots, having long established himself for his elite football skills and famed “Gronk Spike.” Unfortunately, Gronkowski fell victim to the “Madden Curse” in the ensuing 2016 season, in which he played only eight games. The Pats went on to win the Super Bowl without him, anyway.

• Madden NFL 18: Tom Brady

  TB EGO ✖️ on X (formerly Twitter): "Tom Brady really had the best Madden cover 🐐 pic.twitter.com/CtQrnpsKeN / X"

  Tom Brady really had the best Madden cover 🐐 pic.twitter.com/CtQrnpsKeN

  Brady was coming off the famed “28-3” Super Bowl comeback win over the Falcons when this game was released. Hehadto be the cover athlete. So, he went 15 years without making it. EA Sports did have to mix it up with their covers over the years, because Brady was worthy of it every season. But they finally gave him his due for “Madden NFL 18.”

  See Also

  Top 500 greatest NBA seasons of all time?

• NBA 2K25: Jayson Tatum

  NBA on X (formerly Twitter): "The champ is here 🏆@jaytatum0 is your #NBA2K25 cover star!Follow @NBA2K and pre-order today! #BallOverEverything pic.twitter.com/HHRg5FfMpc / X"

  The champ is here 🏆@jaytatum0 is your #NBA2K25 cover star!Follow @NBA2K and pre-order today! #BallOverEverything pic.twitter.com/HHRg5FfMpc

  Boston went seven years without one of its top pro athletes making a video game cover, but leave it to Jayson Tatum to break that drought. Tatum won his first career NBA championship in 2024, and closed out the series strong. He’s been a little more marketable than teammate Jaylen Brown, and the Celtics are poised to rule the NBA for a few years, so Tatum was a logical choice to grace the “NBA 2K25” cover.

Matt, a North Andover, Massachusetts native, has been with The Sports Hub since 2010. Growing up the son of Boston University All-American and Melrose High School hall-of-fame hockey player Steve Dolloff, sports was always a part of his life. After attending Northeastern University, Matt focused his love of sports on writing, extensively writing about all four major Boston teams. He also is a co-host of the Sports Hub Underground podcast and is a regular on-air contributor on the Sports Hub. Matt writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.