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It’s awards season at Celtics.com! We’re handing out six awards over the next week as we roll through this year’s Celtics.com Awards Series. We may not have trophies or acceptance speeches, but we do have some top-flight Celtics performances to outline. Here we go...

We’re wrapping up our 2022 Awards Series today with our most prominent recognition. For the third straight year, the team’s Most Valuable Player award belongs to Jayson Tatum.

For the fifth straight season, Tatum increased both his production and his role with the Celtics. The 24-year-old forward produced career-highs of 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game during the regular season. He grew as a vocal leader in the locker room. And he helped to carry Boston deeper into the playoffs than it had gone in more than a decade, while leading the postseason in total points and assists.

This was a year in which Tatum transitioned from being a perennial All-Star to a legitimate league MVP candidate, and arguably one of the top five players in the entire NBA.

The 2021-22 season was the biggest test of Tatum’s career after the Celtics struggled out of the gates to a mediocre start. In mid-January, Boston owned a 23-24 record and Tatum hadn’t been totally himself either, posting shooting percentages of 41.6 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from long range up to that point.

Then on Jan. 24 against Washington, Tatum erupted for 51 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a 29-point win over Washington, bringing the Celtics back to .500. It was the turning point of the season, and they never looked back from there.

From that day forward, Boston went 28-7 to close out the regular season. Tatum saw his scoring average jump from 25.2 PPG to 29.1 PPG during that span, and his efficiency went up nearly 10 percentage points to 50.3 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from 3-point range.

In a make-or-break moment, Tatum showed exactly what he was made of, never doubting himself or his teammates, while encouraging them to keep fighting.

His fight was taken note of, as he finished sixth in the league’s MVP voting, while also earning his first All-NBA First Team selection alongside Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker, and Luka Doncic.

In the playoffs, Tatum took his fight to another level.

In Game 1 against Brooklyn, he delivered the first game-winning playoff buzzer beater at home in franchise history, setting the tone for a first-round sweep. He averaged 29.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per game in that series, while helping to limit Nets superstar Kevin Durant to an uncharacteristic 38.6 percent shooting clip on the other end of the floor.

Round 2 was a tougher task for Tatum and the C’s, as they took on two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee took a 3-2 series lead, but Tatum kept the Celtics alive with an epic 46-point Game 6 effort on the road, before eliminating the Bucks back at home in Game 7.

In a rematch of the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics got their revenge over the Miami Heat in another seven-game thriller. Tatum was once again at the forefront of it all. He averaged 25.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, leading him to becoming the inaugural winner of the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP award.

Unfortunately, after leading Boston to its first Finals appearance since 2010, Tatum and the C’s couldn’t get the job done against the Golden State Warriors. Despite dealing with a shoulder injury, he still averaged 21.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 45.5 percent from deep in the six-game series.

Tatum ended the postseason as the league leader in total points and assists, while also finishing second in steals and sixth in both rebounds and blocks. He scored by far the most points in the regular season and playoffs combined, ending the year with 2,661 in the scoring column, which was nearly 300 more than Antetokounmpo’s second-place mark of 2,382.

At just age 24, Tatum established himself as one of the best all-around players in the league, a legitimate MVP candidate, and the most valuable member of a championship contender.

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2022 Awards Series MVP: Jayson Tatum

A rising star took off in Boston’s frontcourt this past season, as Rob Williams III soared into the conversation as one of the most feared rim protectors and explosive lob threats in the NBA.

After being elevated into the Celtics’ starting lineup, the 24 year-old center began stuffing the stat sheet and producing record-setting performances on a regular basis. In a matter of one season, he transformed from a backup big man into an All-Defensive Team selectee, making him our clear-cut choice for Most Improved Player of the year

In this first three seasons, Williams gave Celtics fans a taste of his high-flying potential. However, various injuries and frontcourt logjams prevented him from playing significant minutes.

When Ime Udoka was hired as Boston’s head coach in the summer of 2021, he emphasized how he wanted to get more use out of Williams moving forward. And so Timelord was unleashed.

Williams nearly averaged a double-double with career-high marks of 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.9 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game. To compare his previous season, he had averaged 8.0 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 0.8 SPG, and 1.8 BPG in 2020-21.

What made all the difference was Williams’ increase in playing time; he went from averaging 18.9 minutes per game in a bench role the previous season to 29.6 MPG as a starter this past season.

Williams also shot 73.6 percent from the field, which was not only a career-best mark, but also the most efficient mark in NBA history for a player with a minimum of 350 field-goal attempts. Wilt Chamberlain held the previous record with a mark of 72.7% in 1972-73.

Williams’ name found its way into the NBA record books on several other occasions throughout the season thanks to some prolific single-game performances. One of his most noteworthy efforts came against the Phoenix Suns on New Year’s Eve when he tallied 10 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, five blocks, and two steals while shooting 5-for-5 from the field, making him the first player in league history to record a five-block triple-double without missing a shot.

Nine days prior, Williams tallied a career-high 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds, seven assists, to steals, and two blocks.

Along with his uptick in field-goal efficiency, Williams saw a massive improvement in his free-throw efficiency. His made 72.2 percent of his free throws after making just 61.6 percent the previous season.

Amazingly, he never missed a clutch free throw all season. He shot 12-for-12 from line in the last two minutes of games in which no team was ahead or behind by more than five points, which was the best mark of any player in the league with at least that many attempts. Not bad for a guy who entered the season with a career mark of 62.3 percent from the line.

Unfortunately, Williams missed the last quarter of the regular season due to a meniscus tear in his left knee. However, he still managed to block the third-most shots in the league, swatting 134 of the opposition’s attempts. His knee kept him sidelined for seven playoff games as well, though he still led the postseason with 38 blocks in 17 appearances. &nbsp;

It’s no wonder he made his way onto the All-Defense Second Team while also finishing seventh in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Williams was also seventh in the league in total win shares (9.9), trailing six All-Stars in Nikola Jokic (15.2), Giannis Antetokounmpo (12.9), Joel Embiid (12.0), Rudy Gobert (11.7), Karl-Anthony Towns (10.3), and Trae Young (10.0). He finished just a hair ahead of teammate Jayson Tatum, who landed in eighth place with 9.6 win shares.

Despite missing significant time, it was still Williams’ healthiest season yet. He played 2,198 minutes in the regular season and playoffs, more than doubling his previous career high of 1,031 minutes in 2020-21.

His increased presence made all the difference for his teammates on both sides of the ball. On the offensive end, he helped to take the pressure off Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum thanks to his presence as a lob threat. On the defensive end, he helped to provide constant pressure on the opposition thanks to his elite shot-blocking ability.

Williams’ individual improvements went hand-in-hand with the team’s improvements, as the C’s went from a 36-36 postseason play-in team to a 51-31 Eastern Conference champion in a matter of one year. And at 24 years old, he’s just getting started.

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2022 Awards Series Most Improved Player: Rob Williams III

Nearly all of this year’s Awards Series winners were no-brainers. When it came to the Sharpshooter award, however, there was little separation and significant competition.

Multiple Celtics, including Robert Williams, Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard, put together outstanding shooting seasons during the 2021-22 campaign. It was Jaylen Brown, though, who put together the most impressive shooting&nbsp;résumé&nbsp;of all.

Brown led all of Boston’s perimeter players in shooting percentage at 47.3 percent, and he did so while also ranking second on the team in shot attempts per game (18.4). He also ranked third on the team in 3-point percentage at 35.8 percent while attempting the second-most triples per game (7.0).

Only the aforementioned Robert Williams (73.6 percent) and Grant Williams (47.5 percent) shot it better from the field, and only Pritchard (41.2 percent) and Grant Williams (41.1 percent) shot it better from long range. Those players, however, attempted far fewer shots than Brown did on the season.

In short, Brown was not only a bulk shooter for Boston, but impressively, he was also a bulk maker.

While the numbers outlined above are notable, they only scratch the surface when it comes to describing Brown’s notable shooting season. To get to the meat of Brown’s case for winning this award, one needs to look no further than the midrange.

There were two Celtics who consistently attempted shots from 10-19 feet this season: Brown and Jayson Tatum. Brown was far and away more efficient, as he connected on 90 of his 196 attempts from those distances, good for 45.9 percent. Tatum, widely considered to be one of the elite scorers in the league, shot 36.8 percent from those distances.

That’s how Brown stacked up against his teammates from the midrange. Let’s now widen the net and showcase how great he was from a league perspective in this category.

There were only 25 players in the league this past season who attempted at least 90 shots from 10-14 feet, and at least 100 from 15-19 feet. Of those consistent midrange shooters, there were only six who shot at least 45 percent from the 10-14-foot range, and at least 46 percent from the 15-19-foot range. Brown was one of them, along with CJ McCollum, Chris Paul, Darius Garland, DeMar DeRozan, and Kevin Durant.

That right there tells you just how prolific Brown was from the midrange this season. And that right there tells you why Brown has taken home his first Celtics.com Sharpshooter award following his performance throughout the 2021-22 season.

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2022 Awards Series Sharpshooter of the Year: Jaylen Brown

The Boston Celtics produced several outstanding team performances throughout the 2021-22 season, giving us plenty of options to choose from for our Game of the Year.

There was their New Year’s Eve blowout win over the West-leading Phoenix Suns highlighted by Rob Williams’ first career triple-double. There was their 116-111 overtime win on Jan. 2 in Orlando, which featured Jaylen Brown’s first career 50-point game. There was their thrilling back-and-forth Game 1 win over the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs, which was capped off by Jayson Tatum delivering Boston’s first postseason game-winning buzzer-beater at home in franchise history. And there was their double-digit fourth-quarter comeback win against in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

However, the game that we felt stood out above all others was the 109-81 Game 7 win over the Milwaukee Bucks that pushed the Celtics into the Eastern Conference Finals.

After trading punches through the first six games, the C’s and Bucks met in Boston for what was expected to be a thrilling series finale. But no one could have anticipated what unfolded on the afternoon of May 15.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 10-point first quarter got Milwaukee off to an early double-digit lead. Then, Boston’s league-leading defense took control, while Grant Williams – yes, Grant Williams – took over on the offensive end.

Boston outscored the Bucks 89-55 during the final three quarters, led by a game- and career-high 27-point effort from Williams, who tied Steph Curry’s Game 7 3-point record with seven makes from long distance. He alone nearly doubled Milwaukee’s 3-point effort, as the Bucks made just 4-of-33 from deep as a team.

Not only did Williams produce a historic performance, but he also did so while outdueling a two-time league MVP, as Antetokounmpo was held to 25 points on 26 field-goal attempts despite his hot start. His performance was reminiscent of Kelly Olynyk’s unexpected Round 2, Game 7 heroics against the Washington Wizards, which happened to have taken place exactly five years prior.

Williams helped to take some of the offensive burden off Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who combined for 42 points on 30 field-goal attempts. Marcus Smart flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. And Payton Pritchard chipped in with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from long range off the bench.

The game itself was a microcosm of Boston’s season; it started off slow before the defense found its rhythm and dominated the rest of the way through.

What made the defensive performance even more impressive was that it came against the highest-scoring team in the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee’s 36.7 percent shooting clip from the field was its second worst of the entire season. And its 12.1 percent clip from 3-point range was its worst in franchise history – regular season or playoffs – when attempting at least 25 such shots.

Considering what was at stake with their season on the line in a Game 7 matchup against the defending NBA champions, the Celtics couldn’t have dreamed of a better outcome. From the early comeback to the defensive dominance to the unexpected heroics of Williams, it contained all parts necessary to make it worthy of our Game of the Year.

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2022 Awards Series Game of the Year: Game 7 vs Bucks

This is the easiest award that we’ve ever given out.

Marcus Smart was the NBA’s 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year, which made him our obvious choice for the team’s DPOY.

The best defender on the best defensive team in the league, Smart ranked sixth in the NBA in steals per game (1.7) fifth in defensive win shares (10.3), and first in loose balls recovered per game (1.1).

However, Smart’s contributions went way beyond the box score, as they always have. His grit and determination set the tone to help Boston achieve the best defensive rating in the league at 106.2 points allowed per 100 possessions. And his tenacious on-ball defense helped the Celtics record the NBA’s lowest field-goal percentage allowed at 33.9 percent.

The longest-tenured Celtic was also the vocal leader of the defense, communicating in a manner so that he and his teammates could play on a string and be ready for whatever the opposing offense was about to throw at them.

“He’s a great defensive anchor for us, but he’s a better leader,” said teammate and fellow All-Defensive teamer Rob Williams. “He starts the game off telling us, ‘Alright I’ve got him - we’re going to make it hard on him.’ It’s easy to follow a leader like that that has that grit. He directs us so well; he knows what play is coming.”

Often guards don’t get the respect they deserve on the defensive end because they don’t accumulate blocks and rebounds at the rate in which big men do. It explains why a perimeter defender hadn’t won the league’s highest defensive honor since Gary Payton in 1996.

However, Smart made so much of an impact this past season that he became the easy choice for the NBA DPOY. He wound up receiving more than a third of the media’s first-place votes, garnering 37 out of 100. No other player had more than 22 such votes and no other big man finished with more than 12. Smart finished with 257 voting points – 55 more than runner-up Mikal Bridges and 121 more than the closest big, Rudy Gobert. &nbsp;

Fittingly, Smart received the award directly from Payton on April 18 in a surprise ceremony at the Auerbach Center. The Hall-of-Famer and former Celtic expressed to Smart how special it was to finally end the guard drought and how it should open the door for other perimeter defenders to be recognized.

Smart became just the second Celtic to win the award, joining Kevin Garnett, who earned the trophy in 2007-08 as part of Boston’s last championship season. Smart nearly followed Garnett’s exact path, as he helped to guide the Celtics back to NBA Finals before coming up two wins short of a title against the champion Golden State Warriors.

Further emphasizing his defensive impact, Smart was also named the winner of the NBA Hustle Award, which “rewards players that do the little things that don’t show up in the traditional box score.” It marked the second time in the past four seasons that Smart earned the honor, making him the first-ever two-time recipient.

Smart was also a near-unanimous selection to the All-NBA First Team – his third selection in the past four seasons –earning 99 out of 100 media votes.

It was a season in which Smart took home every possible piece of defensive hardware, and we’re adding one more to his shelf.

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2022 Awards Series Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Smart

Grant Williams was high on our list for several awards this season. He made a case for Most Improved Player and for Sharpshooter of the Year, but ultimately, we felt that he was the perfect choice for our Sixth Man of the Year.&nbsp;

In his third NBA season, Williams took leaps in all aspects of his game, which allowed him to become Boston’s most reliable bench contributor throughout the 2021-22 campaign. He tallied career high marks of 7.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks per game, while making a team-high 77 regular-season appearances, including 21 starts.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Williams also demolished his previous high shooting percentages across the board. Prior to this season, he had shot 42.6 percent from the field, 32.0 percent from 3-point range, and 65.7 percent from the free-throw line for his career. Rookie head coach Ime Udoka’s first assignment for the 23-year-old was to improve each of those numbers.&nbsp;

Williams got to work and exceeded all expectations by flirting with a 50/40/90 season.&nbsp;

The 6-foot-6 forward wound up shooting 47.5 percent from the field, 41.1 percent from long range, and 90.5 percent from the foul line, making him just the second player in team history to reach those marks in a single season. The other? Larry Bird in 1987-88.&nbsp;&nbsp;

To have that type of consistency coming off the bench was crucial for the Celtics, as it took some of the offensive pressure off of go-to scorers Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.&nbsp;

Williams also provided intangible attributes that didn’t show up in the box score, such as his endless energy and constant communication. He was the spark plug that boosted the bench and he also helped to set the defensive tone with his fearlessness and willingness to guard any type of opponent from role players to superstars.&nbsp;

In the Playoffs, he yearned for those moments to step up against the opposing team’s best player. He took on Kevin Durant in the first round, Giannis Antetokounmpo in the second, Bam Adebayo in the Eastern Conference Finals, and Draymond Green in the NBA Finals. He had his moments against each of those players – most notably against Durant, who was held to just 38.6 percent shooting in the Nets series.&nbsp;

Williams saw most of his numbers jump during the postseason, as averaged 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game, while seeing his minutes climb from 24.4 to 27.3.&nbsp;&nbsp;

He also did an impeccable job filling in for injured center Robert Williams, stepping into a starting role for five straight games during the Bucks series.&nbsp;

Williams was the Game 7 hero against Milwaukee when he poured in a career-high 27 points, while tying Stephen Curry’s Game 7 record with seven 3-point makes.&nbsp;

In that series alone, Williams averaged 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He also made 17 3-pointers across the seven games, which was two more than any Bucks player made during that span.&nbsp;

Right from the start of this season, after making 9-of-13 from deep through his first three games, it was clear that Williams was about to take a giant leap. He was Boston’s best bench scorer, its top all-around shooter, and the most durable player on the team. He was also the go-to guy if the Celtics ever needed a frontcourt spot-starter, which he proved when he helped to lift them past the defending NBA champions and into the Conference Finals.&nbsp;

In essence, Williams was the definition of a true sixth man.&nbsp;

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2022 Awards Series Sixth Man of the Year: Grant Williams 

BOSTON, MA –&nbsp;The Boston&nbsp;Celtics&nbsp;will open&nbsp;preseason&nbsp;action at TD Garden against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday, October 2, as part of the team’s four-game exhibition slate for the 2022-23 NBA&nbsp;season, the team announced today.

Boston’s preseason schedule, presented by JetBlue, continues at TD Garden when the Celtics face the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, October 5.

The Celtics will then travel to North Carolina’s Greensboro Coliseum for the team’s second matchup with the Hornets (Friday, October 7), before concluding the&nbsp;preseason&nbsp;in Montreal against the Raptors as part of the NBA’s Canada Series (Friday, October 14).

All four of the Celtics’ preseason games will be televised live on NBC Sports Boston and streamed on the MyTeams app. The Network will additionally provide pregame and postgame coverage throughout the preseason. Sean Grande and Cedric Maxwell will once again handle radio broadcast duties, calling all four&nbsp;preseason&nbsp;contests live on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Preseason&nbsp;coverage will also be available to fans on&nbsp;Celtics.com, and the&nbsp;Celtics&nbsp;App (celtics.com/app), in addition to all&nbsp;Celtics&nbsp;social media channels.&nbsp;

Tickets for all Celtics home games, including the preseason, will go on sale at a later date. Fans interested in receiving email alerts with exclusive ticket opportunities, schedule updates, and more, can sign up at celtics.com/subscribe.

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Celtics Announce 2022 Preseason Schedule

Few humans – let alone athletes – have touched the stars in as many ways as Bill Russell.

The 11-time champion, two-time Hall-of-Famer and longtime civil rights activist and mentor died peacefully Sunday, according to a statement by his family. He was 88 years old.

Basketball legends and world leaders alike took to public forums to express their sadness Sunday after learning of Russell’s death.

Michael Jordan said in part, “The world has lost a legend.”

Larry Bird issued a statement during which he said he “always had tremendous respect for Bill as a man, as a player, and great champion.”

Among many others, President Barack Obama also stated in part, “Today, we lost a giant. As tall as Bill Russell stood, his legacy rises far higher – both as a player and as a person.”

That legacy is unmatched, and surely, it will live on forever.

Russell won an NBA-record 11 championships as a player and a player-coach for the Boston Celtics. That astounding total included a stretch of eight straight titles from 1959-1966. In total, Russell’s Celtics won 11 titles during his 13 NBA seasons.

Amid all of those championship runs, Russell accumulated 12 All-Star appearances and 11 All-NBA selections, while winning five NBA MVP awards.

What’s most impressive about those individual accolades is that Russell earned them while putting team success ahead of his personal statistics. He once stated of his mindset, “My approach was: it’s a team game, and the only important stat was the final score.” He would do anything to come out on top.

That oftentimes included doing the dirty work as an elite defender and as a rebounder, which ignited his team’s success.

He is a four-time rebounding champion who ranks second in league history in total rebounds with 21,620. Russell averaged at least 21.0 rebounds per game for 10 straight seasons from 1957-1967.

The NBA did not begin tracking blocked shots until after his career ended. Otherwise, it is widely regarded that Russell would be the all-time leader in that category – and by a long shot. He was an astute defender and rim protector who possessed elite timing. He was once called “the smartest player to ever play the game” by opponent Bill Bradley.

As great of a regular-season player as Russell was, he took his game to a whole other level during the postseason. He led his team to a perfect 11-0 record in winner-take-all scenarios, during which he averaged more than 18 points and 29 rebounds per game. He owns the NBA Finals record for most rebounds in a game with 40 (twice), and rebounding average at 29.5.

It was fitting that in 2009, then-NBA Commissioner David Stern renamed the NBA Finals MVP award in honor of Russell as the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award.

Russell was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1975, and as a coach in 2021. He broke the color barrier for head coaches in the NBA, becoming the first Black head coach in league history in 1966 before leading the C’s to two titles. He also won two NCAA championships at the University of San Francisco, and captained the 1956 gold medal-winning US Olympic team.

Remarkably, Russell’s greatness as a human being matched his greatness as a basketball player. He utilized his fame to speak loudly and proudly to the masses for decades as a civil rights activist and mentor.

Russell marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he stood by Muhammad Ali in his disagreement over being drafted into military service, and he helped to initiate the first official boycott of an NBA game as a civil rights protest, among many other notable moments as an activist. He even stated publicly that he would give up his basketball career “without hesitation” to participate in the civil rights movement if it would help to ease racial tensions in the country.

“On the court, he was the greatest champion in basketball history,” President Obama said. “Off of it, he was a civil rights trailblazer.

“For decades, Bill endured insults and vandalism, but never let it stop him from speaking up for what’s right.”

Russell did his best to inspire others to do the same through mentorship. A line he is known to have used is, “There is no such thing as other people’s children.” A statue of Russell was erected in 2013 in Boston’s City Hall, and that statue now includes two young children by his side to commemorate his commitment to mentorship for anyone and everyone who sought such relationships.

As the Celtics stated Sunday afternoon, “To be the greatest champion in your sport, to revolutionize the way the game is played, and to be a societal leader all at once seems unthinkable, but that is who Bill Russell was.”

There was only one Bill Russell. He is the true essence of a legend, one who helped not only to grow and improve the game of basketball, but also to make the world a better place.