Gordon Hayward Reflects On Wrong Priorities With Former Celtics Core

Gordon Hayward was a key piece of a very talented Boston Celtics core.

Entering the 2018-19 season, Hayward started alongside Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford. Given that Boston came within one game of the NBA Finals in the previous season while its stars were injured, the Celtics entered the campaign with championship expectations and the second-shortest odds to win a title.

Ultimately, the Celtics had a solid year, though they did not dominate and finished as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Boston eventually fell in five games to the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the playoffs.

Boston has continued to take championship steps with Tatum and Brown, reaching the NBA Finals in 2022. With thoughts on how that Celtics team could have done the same, Hayward believes that having too many stars may have hurt the on-court product.

“We all had too many agendas,” Hayward told fellow NBA star Paul George on his “Podcast P” show. “The agenda to win the whole thing was not the main one. Not to blame anyone, either. It’s all human nature.”

With so many players on the rise that needed touches and chances to score, Hayward noted that the Celtics would have benefited from an unselfish approach.

“There was too many of us in the exact same position,” Hayward added. “We all needed the ball. We all rocked with the ball.”

Hayward eventually signed with the Charlotte Hornets after the 2019-20 season, averaging at least 14.5 points in all four seasons there.

As for the current Celtics, Boston has made it work this season with a star-studded core, jumping out with a 26-6 record. The Celtics bring a winning streak into the new year and visits the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.