Did The Celtics Make A Huge Mistake? | The Story with Rachel Nichols

Sports Illustrated
2 followers
Oct 23, 2026
AI Generated·May contain errors
Tonight, the Celtics are hosting their home opener.
And look who's about to stroll in.
The New York Knicks, who just earned
some extremely shiny championship rings.
That gives them a lot more to brag about than the Celtics,
whose past six months have been much more up and down.
In May, you'll remember the Celtics blew a 3-1 lead to Philadelphia
in the first round of the playoffs.
Then this summer, they made the curious decision to trade Jalen Brown
to the very same Sixers team that knocked them out.
I mean, it's one thing to have made a deal.
There was obviously growing friction between Brown and the franchise.
But to have made that deal to a division rival without waiting
to see what other offers might come in?
Well, if you think the Knicks coming in tonight is a test,
in November, they played 12 of their 16 games on the road,
including their first matchup against Jalen in Philadelphia.
It was just two years ago that the Celtics
were the ones with the shiny new championship rings,
the ones who look better than anyone else at the reunion.
Tonight, well, they just settled
for looking better than they did on Tuesday.
