BOSTON – It’s taken 16 years, but the Boston Celtics officially raised banner No. 18 to the TD Garden rafters Tuesday night as the franchise celebrated its record-breaking 18th NBA championship ahead of their season opener against their Atlantic Division rivals, the New York Knicks, in the first game of the 2024-2025 NBA season.

“I can honestly say to the best fans in the world,” Jayson Tatum said with a smile, “let’s do it again.”

After years of disappointment and playoff heartbreak, Boston tore through the league last season, winning 64 games in the regular season before cruising through the playoffs with ease, going 16-3 to claim the organization’s first title since 2008 .

And after listing the team’s accomplishments, including a 37-4 home run in the regular season to the delight of the sold-out crowd, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck smiled and said, “Pretty damn good.”

“In a storied history that includes 23 retired jerseys,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, “this special Celtics team is now making history of its own as we enter the NBA’s 79th season.”

As part of the Celtics franchise’s celebrated history, several legends from the team’s past were in attendance: from Bob Cousy, who won six of those titles in the NBA’s early seasons; to Cedric Maxwell, who won an NBA Finals MVP award and a pair of titles; to the anchors of the last team to claim a title here: Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, together again and celebrating being the second-to-last Celtics team to win hardware.

The crowd exploded a few times during the introductions of the coaches and players – most notably for former coach and current president of basketball operations Brad Stevens; current coach Joe Mazzulla, who kissed the floor as he walked out to get his ring from Silver; Kristaps Porzingis, who will be out for at least the next few months due to offseason ankle surgery; and both Jaylen Brown and Tatum, the team’s two stars and who were introduced last.

As the rings were handed out, the team’s focus shifted to the task at hand: a highly anticipated showdown with New York, a team that hopes to do this season what the Celtics did last year — and spent the summer acquiring a pair of big names in Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns in an attempt to do just that.

“I mean, when a team wins the championship, everyone analyzes how they did and what their personnel was and what their plan was and all that,” Brunson said Tuesday morning after the Knicks held their morning shootaround here at TD Garden. “And so I don’t want to speak for the rest of the league, but a lot of people saw how successful they were with their offense and their five outs and their schemes and whatever. And so it might not be a carbon copy.” , but everyone will want to adapt to the new ways of basketball every time someone wins like that.”