The Boston Celtics are taking a page from a motto that once belonged to the Philadelphia 76ers, but they’re giving it a very different meaning.
For the Sixers, “trust the process” became shorthand for a years-long tank job aimed at collecting enough young talent to build a contender. It was a gamble, and while the strategy itself wasn’t foolish, the plan eventually ran into trouble when the players they banked on - including Ben Simmons - didn’t develop the way they hoped. Philadelphia has since moved on from the slogan, though it has not stopped chasing talent since drafting Joel Embiid in 2014.
Boston’s version looks nothing like that.
Brad Stevens stunned people earlier this summer when he traded Jaylen Brown. The move was expected on some level, but the part that really caught people off guard was the destination and the return: Brown was sent to a division rival for Paul George, a former star whose contract was widely viewed as an albatross.
Still, taken as a whole, the offseason makes the Celtics’ direction pretty clear. Stevens appears to value basketball fit and the team’s process more than simply stacking the most talent he can find.
George may not be a better player than Brown, but he fits what Boston wants to do more cleanly. He’s a better shooter, a smarter defender, and less prone to the kind of avoidable mistakes Brown can make.
Boston doubled down on that identity by adding Mitchell Robinson, one of the NBA’s best offensive rebounders ever, after realizing offensive rebounding can serve as a safety valve when the three-point game goes cold. Robinson also fits the same mold as George in another important way: both are defensive playmakers who force turnovers, which aligns neatly with Boston’s possession-first approach.
That’s why the 2026-27 Celtics may not be as talented as the team that won Banner 18, but they could be even better suited to Mazzulla Ball. It doesn’t guarantee Banner 19, but it does show Stevens is betting on fit, identity, and process over raw star power. In that sense, he’s trusting the process more than ever.
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Instead, the leagues preview pointed both clubs elsewhere for those marquee dates, leaving the anticipated Boston-Philadelphia spotlight matchup off the board for now. Bostons holiday stage belongs to another Eastern Conference opponent, and the full schedule release later on will be the next chance to see where, and when, the Celtics and Sixers finally land on each others calendar. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Just Got An Opening Night Spotlight Few Teams Ever See
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For Boston, it is another sign of how often the franchise is placed in the leagues brightest spotlight, even before the season has fully begun. The opener will lead into a packed night slate as the Knicks host the 76ers and the Thunder meet the Spurs, but the Celtics-Pistons game gets the first turn in front of the cameras, with the afternoon slot giving it a different kind of stage than the usual opening-night routine. [Read more 🡒]