Boston Celtics suffer worst first-round playoff defeat in franchise history

16 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · May 7

The second-seeded Celtics blew a 3-1 lead and lost to the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers, becoming Boston's first team to lose a first-round series as a top-three seed since 1984.
Boston had never previously blown a 3-1 series lead, holding a 32-0 record when ahead 3-1, while Philadelphia recovered despite Joel Embiid missing the first three games.
The loss eclipses earlier higher-seed exits in 2009, 2020, 2023 and 2025, and leaves major roster questions despite Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both still being under 30.

Was Jayson Tatum's injury the real reason for the loss, or is Boston's championship core fundamentally flawed?

After this historic collapse, should the Celtics break up their star duo and trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo?