The Boston Celtics suffered a disappointing end to a great season when they were eliminated by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

The Celtics, who entered the season with few expectations, went 56-26 and earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Head coach Joe Mazzulla is up for the NBA's Coach of the Year award as a result. 

While the ultimate ending was rough, there were plenty of good things along the way for this Celtics group: They saw Jaylen Brown develop as a leader and as a primary scorer. They saw Payton Pritchard take yet another leap as an offensive catalyst and Derrick White continue to be one of the best two-way players in the league.

Role players like Baylor Scheireman, Jordan Walsh and Luka Garza all got a chance to develop and contribute, which can only help in the future. In Garza's case, he actually made some rare NBA history, which was noted by Taylor Snow on Friday.

Best true shooting % in a season by a center with at least 100 3-point attempts:

1. Nikola Jokic (2022-23) – 70.1%

2. Luka Garza (2025-26) – 68.2%

And what is true shooting percentage?

True shooting percentage, aka TS%, is a metric that factors a player’s or a team’s performance at the free-throw line and considers the efficiency of all types of shots. This NBA statistic helps us compare players with varying responsibilities and shooting abilites on the floor. A higher True Shooting Percentage generally indicates a more efficient scorer, while a lower percentage indicates a less efficient scorer, while other aspects such as shot selection and offensive role should also be taken into account when evaluating a player’s overall performance.

Garza shot 65.7 percent from two-point range, 43.3 percent from three-point range and 76.9 percent from the foul line, showing his effectiveness from all areas. He played in 69 total games for Boston, averaging a career-high 8.1 ppg.

A former standout at Iowa, Garza is a five-year veteran of the Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves and Celtics. He's averaged 6.0 ppg for his career to go along with 2.7 rebounds.

He's got one more year under contract with the Celtics before reaching free agency in 2027-28. We'll see if Boston works to extend him to try to keep him in the fold long-term.

He's 27 years old and the Celtics have no true long-term answers at center.

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