While the NBA Playoffs are in full swing, now is a good time to recap the fantasy basketball season for all 30 teams.
In the following weeks, we will provide a recap for each team, starting with the team with the worst record and concluding with the NBA champion in June.
Coming off of the franchise's 18th NBA title, the Boston Celtics appeared to have every chance of repeating. One of three teams to win at least 60 games, Joe Mazzulla's team went into the postseason as the two-seed in the East. Unfortunately, injury woes that began late in the regular season continued in the playoffs, with Jayson Tatum suffering a ruptured Achilles during the second round. With a sky-high salary/luxury tax bill to navigate, the Celtics will have some questions to answer this offseason.
Boston Celtics 2024-2025 Season Recap
Record: 61-21 (2nd, East)
Offensive Rating: 119.5 (3rd)
Defensive Rating: 110.1 (4th)
Net Rating: 9.4 (2nd)
Pace: 96.59 (29th)
2025 NBA Draft Picks: 28, 32
Boston's 2024-25 season got off to an excellent start, as the champs blew out the Knicks on opening night. Despite not having Kristaps Porzingis to begin the season as he recovered from offseason leg surgery, the Celtics were clearly among the NBA's upper crust, boasting the talent and experience needed to make a run at another championship. Unfortunately, Joe Mazzulla's team would struggle with some health issues late in the regular season that would be a harbinger of things to come.
Jrue Holiday missed time with a shoulder injury while Jaylen Brown was nagged by a knee issue that proved more serious than some anticipated. Add in Porzingis being sidelined by an illness that sapped his conditioning, and the champs entered the postseason at less than full strength. Jayson Tatum would injure his wrist during the first-round series against Orlando, and the most significant blow would be absorbed during Game 4 of the team's second-round series with the Knicks.
Tatum ruptured the Achilles tendon in his right leg while attempting to corral a loose ball. Two nights later, Boston would win Game 5, but the ending was inevitable. The Celtics' title run ended in a Game 6 blowout defeat, after which it was reported that Brown was playing through a partially torn meniscus. The health of the team's top three players and the sale of the team open the floor for some significant questions to address this summer.
Does Boston look to run it back while Tatum recovers from his injury? Or will this be used as an excuse to reshuffle the deck and try to save some money? Boston's approach will significantly impact the NBA in 2025-26.
Fantasy Standout: Jayson Tatum
From a fantasy standpoint, Tatum entered the season in an interesting spot. While he's certainly a player worth selecting in the first round of standard league drafts, some were prepared for the Celtics star to be a player whose value would sit near the first/second round turn. That's precisely what happened, with Tatum ranking 13th in eight- and nine-cat per-game value according to Basketball Monster. Having appeared in 72 games, he was a top-10 player in total value.
Making 72 starts, Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 3.5 three-pointers per game, shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 81.4 percent from the foul line. While his percentages decreased slightly compared to the 2023-24 campaign, Tatum's assist average was the highest of his career. His 31 double-doubles were six more than his tally during Boston's championship season, and JT was also responsible for two triple-doubles. Among the highlights were a February 28 loss to the Cavaliers in which he recorded 46 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists. Tatum was also responsible for a 43/15/10 line in a December 21 win over Chicago.
After missing Game 2 of Boston's first-round series with Orlando due to a right wrist injury, Tatum would score 35 points or more in each of the final three games. And his Game 4 performance against the Knicks was one of the best of his postseason career before suffering the Achilles tendon tear that ended his season. Due to that injury, Tatum will likely miss most of the 2025-26 season, if not all. He can't be selected in drafts as high as he would if healthy. Whether or not Tatum will be worth stashing depends on the Celtics' next update on his status. If there's a chance that he'll be back in time for the fantasy playoffs, some managers will be willing to take the risk and draft Tatum with a late-round pick.
Fantasy Revelation: Payton Pritchard
After a solid run in his fourth NBA season, Pritchard emerged as one of the top reserves in the NBA in 2024-25. The eventual NBA Sixth Man of the Year appeared in 80 games, starting just three, recording averages of 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 3.2 three-pointers in 28.4 minutes per game. Pritchard, who shot 47.2 percent from the field and 84.5 percent from the foul line, established new career-high averages in points, rebounds, assists, steals, three-pointers and field-goal percentage.
The production was good for top-50 value in nine-cat formats and top-60 value in eight-cat formats. While Pritchard ended the regular season rostered in about 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues, he played well enough to justify a higher percentage, especially when the Celtics were forced to play without a starter (or more). He's one of the players impacted by Tatum's availability next season. Despite being a reserve, Pritchard is good enough to be considered a potential top-100 pick, especially with him averaging high-20s in minutes per game.
Fantasy Disappointment: Jrue Holiday
While some may argue that Jaylen Brown should be the choice, at least he finished the season as a top-100 player. For the first time since his rookie season, Holiday failed to provide top-100 per-game value according to Basketball Monster. In 62 games, he averaged 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.7 three-pointers in 30.6 minutes, shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 90.9 percent from the foul line. Averaging just 1.2 turnovers per game, Holiday was slightly more valuable in nine-cat formats than eight-cat formats.
While he did not miss more than four consecutive games at any point during the regular season, Holiday endured a month-long stretch in which he missed nine of 12 games due to a right shoulder impingement and a mallet finger on his right hand in early February. And he would miss the final three games of Boston's first-round series with a strained right hamstring. Given Boston's expected luxury tax bill (they're a repeater, too) and Tatum's injury, Holiday may be a name to watch this offseason, as he turns 35 in June and has three seasons remaining on his current contract.
Fantasy Recaps/Look-Aheads
Jaylen Brown
After appearing in 70 games and earning his third All-Star Game appearance in 2023-24, injuries limited Brown to 63 appearances in 2024-25. He averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.8 three-pointers in 34.3 minutes, shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 76.4 percent from the foul line. While Brown's scoring average decreased by nearly a whole point, his rebounds and assists increased, averaging a career-high in the latter. Another positive was the improved foul shooting, with Brown's percentage rising by over six points after a subpar 70.3 percent mark in Boston's championship season.
However, while no stretch was longer than four games missed due to injury (a hip injury in early November), his production tailed off late in the regular season. The issue, as it would be learned shortly after the Celtics' season ended, was a partially torn meniscus in his right knee. For fantasy managers who may have been disappointed by Brown's production during the playoff weeks, the knee issue had much to do with that. At the time of publishing, no decision was made regarding whether Brown must undergo surgery this offseason.
The combination of him getting healthy and Tatum's Achilles tendon rupture will likely boost Brown's value heading into drafts next fall, especially with lead executive Brad Stevens expressing his confidence in Brown leading the way. Despite only having two top-50 fantasy seasons to his credit, the Celtics star continues to have an ADP within that threshold, but the circumstances make Brown worth the risk.
Derrick White
After proving more valuable than many fantasy managers expected him to be in 2023-24, White had another excellent fantasy season in 2024-25. Appearing in 76 regular-season games, he averaged 16.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.1 blocks and 3.5 three-pointers in 33.9 minutes. White, who shot 44.2 percent from the field and 83.9 percent from the foul line, finished as a top-50 player in eight- and nine-cat formats regarding per-game value, and the availability made him a top-25 player in total value.
White finished the season with four double-doubles, and in a March 5 win over the Trail Blazers, he went off for a career-high 41 points. Not only was that his first 40-point game, but it was the first in which he surpassed 35. Regarding availability and production, White has been a reliable member of the Celtics' rotation since he arrived in Boston during the 2021-22 season. While some continue to discuss the possibility of the Celtics making significant changes following Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury, White is a player the team and fantasy managers can count on if Boston keeps the group together for another season.
Kristaps Porzingis
Limited to 57 regular-season games in 2023-24, Porzingis' 2024-25 campaign did not begin until November 25 due to offseason ankle surgery. Unfortunately, an ankle injury cost him four games just after Christmas, and the Celtics center would miss eight games in March due to an unidentified viral illness that proved more problematic than many expected. After playing 34 minutes in Game 3 of Boston's first-round series against the Magic, Porzingis would not surpass 25 minutes again, playing 19 or fewer in five of the team's six games against the Knicks in the second round. Due to how the illness impacted his stamina, he was a shell of himself against the team that drafted him.
Porzingis played in 42 regular-season games, averaging 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.5 blocks, and 2.5 three-pointers in 28.8 minutes. While he provided excellent per-game value, the total value was not there due to KP's availability issues. The 7-foot-3 Celtic has played 65 regular-season games or more three times in his career, and he's logged 99 in Boston. If the Celtics were to make significant changes this summer, Porzingis is a player to watch despite the injury woes.
Unless Boston were to extend his contract, the 2025-26 season will be the last on Porzingis' current contract, and it's worth a little over $30.7 million. From a fantasy standpoint, his Yahoo! ADP will be considerably higher than his 2023-24 number (104), but he'll be a risky early-round dice roll due to the injuries.
Al Horford
While Horford remained a dependable member of the Celtics' rotation, his production did not make a significant dent in fantasy leagues. Starting 42 of the 60 games he appeared in, the 38-year-old center averaged 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.9 blocks and 1.9 three-pointers in 27.7 minutes. Shooting a career-low 42.3 percent from the field, Horford finished the regular season ranked outside the top-100 in eight- and nine-cat formats, providing greater value in the latter.
Once again not playing both games of back-to-backs, Horford only had two instances this season in which he missed consecutive games. However, his left significant toe sprain in mid-March slowed the veteran forward. And with Horford turning 39 in early June, his days as a consistently reliable fantasy option are likely in the rearview mirror. He'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer and has yet to decide his NBA future. However, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported in mid-May that Horford does not plan to retire and hopes to re-sign with the Celtics. If that happens, his fantasy value in 2025-26 should not change; he'll be a late-round option in standard leagues.
Luke Kornet
While Kornet may not have been productive enough to merit being rostered in fantasy leagues throughout the 2024-25 season, the 7-foot-2 center had his moments. He reached double figures in scoring on 15 occasions, including a 19-point effort against the Hornets on November 2, and there were seven games in which he recorded at least three blocked shots. Kornet's most notable performance occurred in the postseason, however, as he helped spearhead Boston's Game 3 win over New York by recording 10 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal and seven blocked shots, shooting 5-of-5 from the field.
Ranked just within the top-200 in nine-cat formats, Kornet finished outside that threshold in eight-cat formats. He wasn't a player worth targeting in fantasy drafts before the season began, and that's unlikely to change if the Celtics keep the band together in 2025-26. However, if they were to lose Horford via free agency (or retirement), Kornet's ceiling would rise slightly, especially with Kristaps Porzingis' injury history.
Sam Hauser
Hauser was another Celtic who was most valuable when the team was down at least one starter. He started a career-high 19 games during the regular season, averaging 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 2.3 three-pointers in 21.7 minutes (71 appearances). Hauser scored 20 points or more on four occasions, including a 33-point effort in Boston's March 10 win over the Jazz, and there were seven games in which he made five three-pointers or more.
Having finished the regular season ranked outside the top-200 in eight- and nine-cat formats, Hauser is unlikely to be a player worth targeting in deep-league drafts next fall, even with Jayson Tatum unavailable. But there should once again be moments where it makes sense to stream him, especially for category league managers needing three-point production.
Restricted Free Agents: Drew Peterson
Unrestricted Free Agents: Al Horford, Luke Kornet, Torrey Craig
Team Option: JD Davison
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