Legendary ‘Aura’ Starstruck Celtics Throughout Banner 18 Celebration

BOSTON — Celtics greats from generations before, joined the current title-defending crew to celebrate the franchise’s record-18th championship on Tuesday night.

Friendly faces of the past, such as Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Bob Cousy, were honored moments before Boston’s 2023-24 team received its championship rings and stood in front of the New York Knicks bench to raise Banner 18. The moment wasn’t just emotional for the Celtics faithful which patiently waited nearly two decades for the next Larry O’Brien Trophy to be seized, but for the locker room as well.

“What an incredible night,” Jaylen Brown said after Boston defeated New York, 132-109. “Just the aura in the arena was amazing. Having the legendary Celtics in the building: Bob Cousy, KG, Paul, Cedric Maxwell, all of the guys who have won, and it’s almost like they were passing the torch. I was fighting (tears) back at the start of the game. It was amazing. This is what we set out, the journey to do. This is what — my rookie year when I got drafted — this is what I said I would do. I would go to war for this city and it’s great to watch that banner get raised.”

Brown paid his respects to the late Bill Russell 24 hours before kicking off the season at TD Garden by attending the icon’s bridge-renaming ceremony — Boston renamed the North Washington Street Bridge after Russell. The 27-year-old homegrown stud was taken aback by the legends who, like Brown, have reached the pinnacle point of capturing a championship. For Cousy, a six-time champion, and Maxwell, a two-time champion, they’ve experienced that once-in-a-lifetime glory on multiple occasions.

Now, it’s up to the Celtics of today to keep that winning tradition alive and strive to become the 14th team ever in NBA history to win back-to-back championships. Perhaps watching the organization’s history book pillars face-to-face will spark an inspirational fuse not only in Brown, but co-star Jayson Tatum too.

“In that moment, for me, I was like a kid,” Tatum said. “Obviously, I didn’t see (96-year-old) Bob Cousy play but I remember the Celtics winning a championship in 2008. I think I was 10 years old. And I watched Ray and Paul and KG. I grew up watching those guys it’s like a full-circle moment for them to come back and share that moment with us and pass the torch or whatever that symbolizes. I’m still a fan of those guys. They’re a part of my childhood. That was an incredible moment.”

Tatum (37 points) and Brown (23 points) combined to score 60 points in the offensive clinic Boston unleashed on New York, making them responsible for nearly half of the team’s point total. It’s a solid start, to say the least, but 81 games remain until the Celtics step foot again through the postseason door and embark on yet another journey toward adding to an already set and stone all-time great Boston team.

“Regardless of what everybody got to say, my name alongside my teammates is gonna be etched down in Celtics history, which is one of the biggest franchises in not just basketball, in sports,” Brown explained. “You can never take that from nobody that was on that team last year. That was special.”