As the Celtics kick their feet up and head into the 2026 NBA All-Star break, here is one thought on each of Boston’s 15 players (all stats as of Thursday):
Jaylen Brown
All-Star starter for the first time. Eastern Conference Player of the Month for January. Fourth-leading scorer in the NBA. On pace for one of the best statistical seasons in franchise history — only 1987-88 Larry Bird has beaten Brown’s current line of 29.3 points, 6.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game — while leading a Celtics team that’s been far more formidable than anyone anticipated. Brown has definitively answered all questions about how he’d fare in a No. 1 role. The biggest unknown now is how this Celtics squad will operate if and when Jayson Tatum rejoins him in the lineup.
Jayson Tatum
No, Tatum has not confirmed he is returning this season. Yes, he still has boxes to check in his recovery from Achilles surgery. But all recent signs — from his practice with the Celtics’ G League affiliate on Monday to his media availability on Tuesday to the team’s decision last week to trade Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic — point to Tatum being back on the court for Boston in the near future. When? It likely won’t be during the Celtics’ four-game post-All-Star road trip — Tatum said months ago that his first game back would be at TD Garden — but we wouldn’t be surprised to see him debut during the ensuing stretch of four home games in eight days (vs. Brooklyn on Feb. 27, Philadelphia on March 1, Charlotte on March 4 and Dallas on March 6).
Derrick White
If he weren’t having the worst shooting season of his career, White likely would have been an All-Star. The 6-foot-4 guard is one of just two players to amass at least 60 steals and 70 blocks this season (the other, Toronto’s Scottie Barnes, is four inches taller), and he boasts the NBA’s fifth-best total plus/minus (plus-381). To quote one of Joe Mazzulla’s favorite lines, White — who’s also on pace for career highs in points and assists — simply “impacts winning.” At least three opposing head coaches have called him one of the league’s most underrated players.
Payton Pritchard
Pritchard’s recent move from starter back to sixth man wasn’t a demotion, but rather a necessary reallocation of resources after the Celtics traded away third guard Anfernee Simons. The reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year has been terrific in his return to the bench, tallying at least 24 points and seven assists in four of his five games since the trade.
Neemias Queta
In a conversation with the Herald last week, former Boston big man Al Horford said the “biggest surprise” of this Celtics season is how well Queta has performed. Fourth on the depth chart last season, the 26-year-old has exceeded external and internal expectations as a full-time starter, averaging 9.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while boasting the NBA’s 10th-best defensive rating. Queta had his best game of the season (10 points, 19 rebounds, five blocks vs. Houston) one day after the Celtics traded for Nikola Vucevic, and so far, he’s kept his spot in the starting lineup over the much more experienced newcomer. We’ll see if that continues.
Nikola Vucevic
Vucevic’s second game in a Celtics uniform was a tough watch. His third was a big improvement. After practicing with his new team for the first time, the 35-year-old center put up 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal against his old squad, the Chicago Bulls, finishing as a plus-26 in 26 minutes. It will be interesting to see how the Celtics game-plan around some of Vucevic’s defensive limitations, especially once the playoffs arrive, but he’s a proven scorer and rebounder who will add spacing and playmaking to Boston’s frontcourt.
Sam Hauser
Out of all NBA lineups that have played at least 100 minutes this season, Boston’s White-Pritchard-Brown-Hauser-Queta grouping ranks fifth in net rating. Hauser has been a locked-in starter since early January, and the Celtics are 16-5 in his last 21 starts.
Hugo Gonzalez
A glance at Gonzalez’s traditional stats (15.2 minutes, 3.8 points, 3.3 rebounds per game) suggests this has been an unremarkable rookie season for the 20-year-old Spaniard. But advanced metrics — and the eye test — show how valuable he’s been in his role. Gonzalez ranks sixth in the NBA in offensive and defensive rating and first in net rating (plus-17.0). The only other players above plus-10 are five members of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic.
Baylor Scheierman
Scheierman has generated fewer headlines than Boston’s other young wings, but he’s quietly carved out a significant role in Mazzulla’s rotation. The second-year pro has played more minutes than Gonzalez or Jordan Walsh over the last month and made eight starts during that span, including four in the last five games. Scheierman is the Celtics’ second-leading rebounder since the start of February, trailing only Queta.
Jordan Walsh
Wednesday’s win over Chicago featured Walsh at his best: chasing 1-on-1 ball-carriers, forcing deflections, crashing for rebounds, converting putbacks and finding space without the ball. Those types of outings were commonplace for the 21-year-old during his December heater but less so since Hauser replaced him in the starting lineup last month.
Luke Garza
Garza likely won’t be an everyday rotation player with Vucevic now in the mix, but he’s proven he can be an asset for Boston, especially offensively. He ranks top-10 in the NBA in true shooting percentage, effective field-goal percentage and offensive rebound percentage, with a team-best 43.8% success rate on 3-pointers.
Amari Williams
Trade deadline week was an odd one for Williams, who both earned a permanent roster spot and saw his role shrink considerably. The Celtics converted the second-round rookie center’s two-way contract to a standard deal after trading away Chris Boucher, Xavier Tillman and Josh Minott — but he’s now unlikely to see much meaningful NBA playing time behind Queta, Vucevic and Garza.
Ron Harper Jr. (two-way)
The Celtics still have three open spots on their 15-man roster, at least two of which they must fill by next week. Odds are one of those will go to Harper, whom Brad Stevens recently called “a stud” and “one of the best players in the G League.” The 25-year-old wing has logged real minutes in three of Boston’s last four games, including an impressive first NBA start against Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets. Harper will be busy during All-Star weekend, as he’s set to participate in both the Rising Stars challenge and the Shooting Stars competition.
Max Shulga (two-way)
Shulga made his NBA debut last Wednesday, playing the final two minutes of Boston’s blowout win over Houston. The rookie point guard is averaging 15.2 points, 6.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game for Maine.
John Tonje (two-way)
Acquired from Utah in the Boucher trade, Tonje is a second-round draft pick who has yet to see his first NBA action. Fun fact: He and Scheierman were AAU teammates growing up in Nebraska.
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