Celtics Unfinished Business shirt means Boston falling short in the 2022 NBA finals. They lost across six games against Golden State.
It has been the team motto of the Celtics in the 2023 Playoffs run as they hope to end the championship drought of fifteen years. They last won the title in 2008 under the tutelage of Doc Rivers.
Boston is currently tied with LA Lakers with 16 championships each in the history of the NBA. It has been surprising, to say the least, that the team with such rich history has not been able to lift the silverware in the TD Garden since 2008.
The Celts finished the 2022/23 regular season with a 57-25 record, just behind Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference. They registered a phenomenal 32-9 record at home, whereas their record on the road read 25-16.
Thanks to the inspirational team effort aided by notable performances from Jayson Tatum, Boston comfortably went past Atalanta Hawks by 4-2 in the first round of the 2023 Playoffs.
While they were trailing by 2-3 down coming on the 6th game of the Conference Semifinals matchup against the 76ers, Boston fought back in the 4th quarter en route to tying the series 3-3.
With the final showdown set for Sunday, the Celtics will hope to carry on the #UnfinishedBusiness and make their way to the Conference Finals.
Unfinished Business Meaning Explained
Boston Celtics are playing as a unit under Joe Mazzulla in the 2023 NBA Playoffs run as they have some Unfinished Business to take care of.
The last decade had been an absolute turmoil for the Celtics failing to reach the NBA Finals even once. Their last finals appearance before the previous season was in 2010.
The Green team gathered themselves to reach the 2022 NBA Playoffs with a decent 51-31 record in the regular season. They easily went past Brooklyn Nets hammering a 4-0 blow in the first round and followed it with a 4-3 victory over the Bucks.
The trio of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Al Horford starred as Boston prevailed over the No. 1 seed Miami Heat across seven games and became the Eastern Conference Champion.
Heartbreak Moment For Boston
The Celtics were highly motivated and looked set to clinch their first championship since 2008 as they set up a blockbuster clash against GSW.
Boston started the 2022 NBA Finals with a bang winning the first match against GSW by 120-108, that too on the road. Although they lost Game 2, they secured a 2-1 lead winning the third game 116-100 in TD Garden.
Just when the stars began to align for the Green team, it just wasn’t meant to happen as Golden State Warriors won the next three consecutive games and lifted the 2022 NBA Championship while Steph Curry was declared the Finals MVP.
It was a jubilant moment for the Warriors but an absolute heartbreak for the Celts as they came so close to the title and yet could not lift it.
Coming onto the 2023 NBA Playoffs, the likes of Tatum, Brown, Horford and Willaims have Unfinished Business Boston Celtics in mind as they are fueled to convert the last year’s Finals loss into the glory of winning the NBA Championship this time around.
Wyc Grousbeck, the governor of the Celtics well and truly believes that this group has a great chance to finish what they started last year. He even compared the current locker room vibe with that of the 2007-08 squad, the NBA Champions.
Why Celtics Wearing 24?
Boston Celtics are wearing 24 on their jerseys in honor of the late Sam Jones. The NBA Hall of Famer Jones passed away at the age of 88 in December 2021.
The Green team also held a moment of silence for Sam before their game against Phoenix Suns on December 31, 2022. In addition to wearing the black band, the Celtics players paid tribute to the great man with a memorable 123-108 victory.
The 6 feet 4 inches tall Sam Jones is an unforgettable name in the history of Boston and the National Basketball Association as a whole. Also eminent with his nickname Mr. Clutch, he was the 8th overall pick for Celtics in the 1957 draft.
Sam Jones won 10 NBA Championships during his illustrious career and ranks second on the list of NBA players with the most rings, only behind the legendary Bill Russell.
He registered 15,411 points, 2,209 assists and 4,305 rebounds while playing twelve seasons for the Celtics. Furthermore, Sam was included in the NBA 25th Anniversary Team in 1971, the 50 greatest players in NBA History in 1996 and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
After Jones decided to bid adieu to his professional playing career in 1969, his iconic number 24 jersey was retired by Boston Celtics. Sam was later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984 alongside former teammate John Havlicek.
Boston Celtics Uniform History
The classic green and white uniform with the trademark logo has symbolized the Boston Celtics franchise ever since the early basketball days.
From the legendary Bill Russell to Jayson Tatum now, they have worn the jersey with great pride and honor. Albeit there have been minor changes over the years, the main theme has remained the same for the Green team.
The uniform features the Celtics logo which has the image of the team mascot Lucky the Leprechaun. The historic green color indicates the Irish heritage and was designed by Zhang Auerbach in the early 1950s.
The medalist sand-knit Boston jersey with a pristine green-and-white look with alternate letterings was eminent from the 1950s era to 1989.
From 1989 to 1997, they adopted the Champion outfitter after NBA made it official for all the teams. Boston adopted the Nike jersey from the 1997/98 to 2003/04 season.
While they donned the Reebook outfit from 2004 to 2006, Boston made a move and signed with Adidas. In addition to the regular home and away jersey, they started printing Alternate 2 and St. Patrick’s Day uniform as well.
The special uniforms with gold lettering on the green background became extremely popular among the fans and made huge sales as well.
However, the underoos’ sleeved jerseys with shades of gray launched during the 2014/15 season are considered the worst in the club’s history.
The franchise shifted back to Nike in 2017 and the apparel company has been producing the classic uniforms to date. All said and done, the official Boston Celtics jersey 2023 colors are green, black, gold, brown and beige.