Celtics Just Missed Major Milestone That Almost All NBA Champions Hit
Celtics Just Missed Major Milestone That Almost All NBA Champions Hit originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
With a loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics fell to 38-20 on the season, which is actually a bad omen for their title hopes in 2026.
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That’s because 91 percent of the last 46 NBA champions have won 40 regular-season games before losing 20.
Celtics fail to hit 40-20. (I know, I know, Tatum.)
Your 40-20 teams:
Oklahoma City Thunder
San Antonio Spurs
Detroit Pistons91% of the last 46 NBA champions have won 40 games before 20 losses.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) February 26, 2026
Does this mean that we should rule out the current Celtics from winning the NBA Finals in June? Absolutely not.
This team has been discounted and undervalued from the moment Jayson Tatum went down with an Achilles tear, and expectations shrank even further when Brad Stevens traded away a chunk of Boston’s championship core in the offseason.
Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and the rest of the Celtics have continued to grind out quality wins all season long in spite of the doubts.
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In the process, Joe Mazzulla has carved out a strong case for Coach of the Year.
40-20 or not, this Celtics team remains dangerous.
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