At the start of the 2025-26 NBA regular season, most analysts and many fans pegged the team as a ball club likely to be in the play-in tournament mix — if they were lucky. But after Boston’s 144-118 blowout of the New Orleans Pelicans at TD Garden this past Friday (April 10) night, the Celtics logged their 55th win of the season while locking up the second seed heading into the 2026 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs later this month.
The stark contrast between those predictions and what Boston was able to accomplish despite several high-profile exits and trades in the offseason and the absence of Jayson Tatum for most of the campaign was not lost on Sam Hauser.
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“55 wins, obviously we got one more left, but that’s something to be proud of, and being the two seed in the East is something to be proud of,” said Hauser.
Apr 10, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) and center Neemias Queta (88) celebrate during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
“Coming into the year, we had faith in ourselves I think, but we didn’t really know how it was going to look,” added the Virginia alum. “And you could tell within the first 10 games that we were trying to figure it out.”
“But sometimes the best way to figure stuff out is trial and error, and throughout the year, I think we just got better and better and better and really bought into the identity of just being the harder playing team.”
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Hauser reflects on defying gap year predictions for Celtics with 55th win