The Celtics are not short of lacking hardware: the franchise owns 10 MVPs, 4 6MOTYs, and 2 DPOYs.
Today, I will be handing out my own awards for the Celtics as the regular season winds down.
This season deserves a proper celebration after the media wrongfully handed the Celtics a label that would age poorly: “a gap year”.
Jaylen Brown publicly called this out recently, and Joe Mazzulla seemed to embrace the role heading into the preseason. Now, let’s look back at this historic year for the team in green.
MVP // Jaylen Brown
Credit: Boston Celtics-Twitter/XThis was the easiest award to crown. Brown has led the surging Celtics all the way to the second seed in the East on 28/7/5 with a steal to back it up. Currently, JB sits at fifth on ESPN’s MVP ladder but will rise to fourth by season’s end due to Luka Doncic’s regular-season-ending hamstring injury. Jaylen has been the vocal leader against the gap-year narrative and has embraced an anti-hero role, calling out officials or players at will.
If the MVP was voted based on who is most important to their squad, I think Brown has a legitimate case to be the league MVP. However, the NBA votes based on narrative and box scores, so it is unlikely Brown will take home his first MVP. Brown has had his best year and has adapted well to Tatum’s return despite the doubters claiming otherwise.
Defensive Player of the Year // Derrick White
White has been the anchor of a stout Celtics defense. Still hunting for his first All-Star nod, White brings an incredible knack for loose balls and hustle plays. What is most noticeable is his impact on the young core in this aspect. It feels like the bench unit has embraced this tenacity that is a key component of Celtics basketball.
White is averaging 2.5 shots a game and is by far the best shot-blocking guard in the league. He even tied a record for blocks in a game for a guard with seven against the Jazz earlier this year. White has been and will be one of the lockdown guards of the East for a long time.
Most Improved Player // Neemias Queta
Queta has been quietly one of the most inspiring stories in the NBA. The first Portuguese man to be drafted, he was waived after two unsuccessful years with the Kings and found himself barely on the Celtics. After the 2024 championship, GM Brad Stevens signed him to a deal with an AAV of 2.5 million until next season.
It is safe to say that he has surpassed his value this season.
Averaging 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks, Queta is a formidable yet raw talent. He has the measurables to develop into a walking double-double machine, standing at 7 feet tall and a muscular 250 pounds. After losing Porzingis, Horford, and Kornet this past offseason, Queta quickly moved up the depth chart and has developed significantly since his first minutes in green.
Sixth Man of the Year // Baylor Scheierman
Scheierman gets the nod here purely due to his ratio of games played vs games started. Pritchard began the season as the starting point guard, then at the trade deadline, he returned to his spot on the bench. Scheierman has had an impressive sophomore-year jump. His season averages of 5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists do not reflect how well he has played since the deadline. He doubled his averages in the final months of the regular season and looks to be a significant part of the playoff rotation.
The Creighton alum has also developed into a serviceable perimeter defender and often picks up star assignments. Despite a broken thumb in the latter half of this year, Baylor has shone as an outstanding young asset going forward.
Rookie of the Year // Hugo Gonzalez
This felt chalked up, but Hugo deserves to be celebrated for an underrated rookie season. The Celtics’ other two rookies have not had a chance to play yet, aside from one heroic double-overtime performance from Amari Williams. The Real Madrid product has been an elite 3-and-D wing with incredible defensive upside as well as a knack for hustle plays at 20 years old. We are incredibly lucky to have Hugo, as he was projected to be a top-10 pick before the college basketball season. His stock fell, as is common for international players, and he had limited playing time at Real Madrid.
Gonzalez has the potential to be an incredible role player for a long time. Despite the season winding down, Hugo’s minutes have slowly reduced to the point of being a garbage-time exclusive player. I believe he could play spot minutes in particular matchups, especially on smaller, guard-heavy teams.
