When Victor Wembanyama pulled up from a step inside the logo Monday night, delivering a Steph Curry-esque 3-pointer in Oklahoma City that sent Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals to the first of two riveting overtimes, we did two things.
1) We let out an audible groan, resigned to the fact that this 7-foot-4 alien (and San Antonio’s young core) could dominate the league for the foreseeable future, with the championship-minted Thunder perhaps the only real obstacle in their path; and 2) We reached for our keyboard and started pecking out this story.
Because in that moment, what had already been painfully obvious throughout these playoffs crystalized a little bit more:
The Celtics have some real work to do.
The 2026 NBA playoffs have been filled with sobering reminders that the pathway back to true title contention is further than it might have seemed, especially during the tail end of Boston’s vibes-filled regular season.
As everyone takes inventory of the Celtics’ season and what pathway they choose to navigate next, we keep flashing back to Brad Stevens’ end-of-the-year press conference, when he noted the Celtics were 3-11 against what many would consider the five other top seeds between the conferences (Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Detroit, New York and Denver).
It would be very easy for the Celtics to convince themselves that minor tweaks — along with a healthier Jayson Tatum — might be enough to keep them among the East favorites next season. And that might be true. But then you watch Game 1 of the West Finals, and it simply feels like Oklahoma City and San Antonio are in a different stratosphere than the rest of the league at this moment.
And the sobering reality is that neither of those teams is likely coming back to Earth any time soon.
Wembanyama originates from another planet and seemingly has no intention of acclimating to this one. The Thunder have an absurd amount of picks that will allow them to either restock amid rising roster costs, or make the sort of big-swing move that can help them win an arms race with San Antonio.
The Celtics went 0-2 against the Spurs, although Jaylen Brown’s absurd ejection didn’t aid their cause in the second meeting. Boston’s win over the streaking Thunder in late March gave hope that a fully healthy Celtics team might fare better against elite competition in the playoffs. Alas, a 1-3 regular-season mark against New York suggested that Boston still had work to do to simply navigate Round 2. If they had gotten that far.
But they didn’t. They lost Game 7 on their home court for the second time in four seasons, this time in Round 1. And some of the optimism gathered over a tantalizingly fun and overachieving regular season was diminished.
We’ll temper all that by noting that any roster helmed by Tatum and Brown has a legitimate chance to get to the title stage. When surrounded by the right pieces, the Jays have delivered the Celtics to the championship round in two of the previous four seasons. There is no denying the success of that tandem.
But Stevens has routinely noted how the north star in Boston is always a championship banner. Just being good enough to get to the title stage isn’t enough.
So how do the Celtics get there? We’ll spend so much of the offseason pondering all the various paths. But for much of the regular season, it was fair to wonder if internal development combined with a healthier Tatum might be enough to boost Boston’s title potential.
Now? We’re not so sure. The Sixers series exposed a bit of Boston’s weaknesses in a way the regular season masked. Stevens and his front-office staff must at least examine bolder decisions this offseason. That’s why everyone from Brown to Derrick White to Sam Hauser will dance in trade rumors this summer.
The Celtics must consider all possibilities.
The last time Boston’s season ended in disappointment with a Game 7 loss at TD Garden, Stevens made the bold decisions to shake up the core, sending out both Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III but bringing back the key pieces of Boston’s 2024 title run in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
This team doesn’t have quite as much freedom to spend like it did that year, but it might soon. One more year under the luxury tax could reset repeater penalties and allow Stevens to splurge big in the summer of 2027.
The question is whether anyone wants to wait that long.
Therein lies the challenge for Stevens. Watching Wembanyama put up 41 points and 24 rebounds is just another reminder of how the Celtics need to fortify their frontcourt. Watching the way the Thunder and Spurs relentless defend and contest shots is another reminder that Boston’s offense needs to be even more efficient despite all the regular-season success.
Stevens noted how the Celtics have to improve their margin for error. It was far too slim this year. A healthier Tatum will stretch it out a bit. But Monday’s West Finals was a harsh reminder that there’s still plenty of work to be done to stretch that margin to a place that teams like San Antonio and Oklahoma City reside.
