Jayson Tatum may already be ahead in one Celtics race this fall, and this one doesn’t involve a box score.
Mike Conley put together a fantasy football league with his new Boston teammates, according to CelticsBlog’s Noa Dalzell, and the group already has the kind of early chatter that turns a simple league into a running conversation. There are 11 players involved, and Ron Harper Jr. helped set the tone when he said he believed Tatum and Paul George were undefeated. Harper also pointed to George as the early favorite.
For a roster blending stars, veterans and younger players, the league is doing more than filling time. It’s giving the Celtics another way to learn each other’s personalities before the games start counting.
The rookies are finding out quickly that even off the court, the veterans can be tough to handle.
Chris Cenac Jr. said he thought his fantasy team was 1-2 after a loss to Payton Pritchard, even though he put up 120 points. Dillon Mitchell also said he was 1-2, and admitted he doesn’t follow football all that closely. Still, checking his fantasy score has given him another reason to pay attention.
That’s part of the appeal here. Different players come in with different levels of football knowledge, but everyone has a stake in the debate.
A rookie can take a shot at a veteran’s lineup choice. A reserve can get a win over a star.
And the talk keeps going long after practice is over.
None of it changes what happens on the court. But it does give Boston another way to build chemistry while the team figures itself out.
Conley has taken the lead on the league, and the group has clearly bought in. His fantasy entry is listed as “Unc,” which fits as the oldest player on the Celtics roster.
Joe Mazzulla said he didn’t know about the league, but he supported players spending time together away from basketball.
Those kinds of everyday interactions matter during training camp, when competition is constant and roles are still being sorted out. A fantasy league gives the group one more place to connect.
Conley’s real value will still be judged by what he does on the floor. But right now, he’s also given the Celtics another topic to argue about. And if anyone wants to beat Tatum, the waiver wire might be the place to start.
In Other News...
Celtics Suddenly Have A Rotation Problem Fans Will Love
Bostons preseason opener offered plenty for Joe Mazzulla to sort through, and not just because the Celtics handled Philadelphia with ease. Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard were among the standouts in a lopsided win that showed off the kind of offensive balance and defensive activity the staff wants to see before the games count.
The more interesting part may be how quickly the new-look rotation is already becoming a puzzle. Paul George also made his Celtics debut and looked comfortable in the flow, which only adds to the number of viable options Mazzulla can test over the next few preseason games as he tries to settle on the right combinations. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Young Core Suddenly Faces Real Pressure In Post-Brown Rotation
Jaylen Browns departure has left Boston heading into the 2026-27 season with a very different look, and Joe Mazzullas rotation is suddenly carrying far more weight than it did a year ago. The Celtics do not have the luxury of easing into the transition, either. If they want to stay in the mix in the Eastern Conference, they will need younger players to absorb real minutes and real responsibility far sooner than planned, with Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman and Chris Cenac Jr. all part of that conversation.
Gonzalez and Scheierman, in particular, are no longer just developmental names tucked at the end of the bench. Their preseason work has put them in position to matter in ways that could shape Bostons early season identity, while Cenacs path points to a more gradual rise. The pressure now is less about long-term promise than immediate usefulness, because the Celtics have a roster gap they cant hide and a young core that has to show it can handle the extra attention. [Read more 🡒]
Derrick Whites Shooting Dip Created A Celtics Problem He Had To Address
Derrick Whites value to Boston was never reduced to one facet of his game last season, but the shooting dip was hard to ignore for a player the Celtics rely on to space the floor and keep their offense moving. Even with the cold stretch from deep, White still delivered at a high level on the other end, finishing sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and earning All-Defensive First Team honors, which only underscored how much he continued to do for the team when one part of his game went missing.
White also made clear the problem did not come out of nowhere. The slump grew from a slow start and then turned into something harder to stop as he kept adjusting his mechanics and pressing to fix it, a cycle that fed on itself and chipped away at his confidence. The numbers reflected the result, and the lingering issue carried into the playoffs, leaving Boston with a version of White that still defended at an elite level but had to work his way back to trust his shot. [Read more 🡒]