The Boston Celtics were already barreling toward an uncertain 2025 NBA offseason. But now their future looks significantly trickier to navigate. The Celtics fell to the New York Knicks in six games during the second round of the playoffs, as they were eliminated with a 119-81 defeat in Game 6 on Friday.

The Celtics didn't care about the cost of retaining their championship core after their dominant 2024 NBA Finals triumph last season. They hoped to break a long drought of NBA champions failing to defend their title. The last team to successfully do so was the 2018 Golden State Warriors, following up their 2017 triumph with another title.

The Celtics fell to the Knicks in the second round, which is interestingly the same round that many reigning champions have had trouble with in recent years.