Fans React to Massive $6.1 Billion Sale of Celtics

The Boston faithful have weighed in.

Feb 28, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA: The Boston Celtics logo is seen on the court beofre the game between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images / Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics rocked the sports world on Thursday morning when they announced the sale of the team for a record $6.1 billion to a new ownership group, Boston Basketball Partners LLC, led by Bill Chisholm.

Current minority owner Robert Hale, plus Bruce A. Beal Jr., and private equity firm Sixth Street all join Chisholm as the future owners of Boston in the new venture. The deal needs to be approved by the NBA Board of Governors, and will probably take a few months to go through.

More Boston Celtics: Celtics Find New Owner in Record-Breaking $6.1 Billion Sale

Sixth Street intends to invest $1 billion in the Celtics, a source informs The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov, Jay King and Jared Weiss.

Boston fans are having an interesting reaction to the Grousbeck family's decision to sell the club to Chisholm.

Read More: Who is Bill Chisholm? Meet the Celtics' New Majority Owner

Although obviously fans are attached to four-time All-NBA superstar power forward Jayson Tatum, four-time All-Star small forward Jaylen Brown, All-Star center Kristaps Porzingis, and All-Defensive Team guards Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, one name seemed to be valued above the rest, among the team's current infrastructure: Boston president Brad Stevens.

Alright Bill, here’s how this works. Every 12 months Brad Stevens will bring you what is called the “luxury tax bill.”

The number on it is irrelevant, sign your name, Thank Brad and then kindly let him get back to work.

Do this one simple thing and I don’t foresee any issues https://t.co/kd2jiasxMt

— Drew Celli (@DrewCelliTV) March 20, 2025

Stevens transitioned from a head coaching role to a front office gig following the club's 41-41 season run in 2020-21. Since then, he has helped make moves that led Boston to a pair of NBA Finals berths and the 2024 title.

The current club is also about to become insanely expensive next summer, when lucrative new extensions for extensions for Tatum and White kick in.

Chisholm's first point of fan-facing business, imo, is reiterating that Brad Stevens job is locked in, and that he's willing to back to the current push.

Those are the two most important things, imo

— Adam Taylor (@AdamTaylorNBA) March 20, 2025

Whether or not the Celtics retain their current championship core, fans trust Stevens to make the necessary moves to keep the club in the title hunt for years (decades?) to come.

All I ask is stay tf out of Brad Stevens way and let him keep cooking 🙏🏽 https://t.co/hpat65par4

— Donovan (@donnym617) March 20, 2025

Chisholm's ownership group, Boston Basketball Partners LLC, confirmed the news of the sale via a press statement in Business Wire.

“Growing up on the North Shore and attending college in New England, I have been a die-hard Celtics fan my entire life,” Chisholm said in the statement. “I understand how important the Celtics are to the city of Boston – the role the team plays in the community is different than any other city in the country. I also understand that there is a responsibility as a leader of the organization to the people of Boston, and I am up for this challenge."

Stevens was responsible for hiring his replacement, Ime Udoka, who instantly led the club to the 2022 Finals, plus current head coach Joe Mazzulla, a surprise interim replacement of Udoka who has emerged as one of the league's best minds, and led Boston to its record 18th championship last season.

“My partners and I have immense respect for Wyc, the entire Grousbeck family and their indelible contributions to the Celtics organization over the last 23 years," Chisholm continued. "We look forward to learning from Wyc and partnering with Brad Stevens, Joe Mazzulla and the talented team and staff to build upon their success as we work to bring more championships home to Boston.”

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For more news and notes on the Boston Celtics, visit Boston Celtics on SI.