‘Celtics City’ Premiere Review: A Refresher on Boston Greatness

From the first few seconds of “Celtics City,” a new HBO Sports Documentary airing on Max, it’s clear what the Boston Celtics are all about: the fans. This documentary starts with hyped-up fans, clad in green from head to toe, cheering at TD Garden in the wake of the Celtics’ Banner 18. From there, the documentary overviews the greatness of the Boston Celtics, the winningest franchise in NBA history, both on and off the iconic parquet. The Celtics represent a lot to the city of Boston — teamwork, dedication, and most importantly, undeniable success. As the NBA Playoffs loom on the horizon and the Celtics aim to reclaim their title, “Celtics City” feels like an inspiring refresher on why viewers should cheer for the boys in green.

The premiere of “Celtics City” has some exclusive interviewees and lots of Boston pride, and New England devotees are sure to love the rest of the series. However, the documentary is visually bland and does not look like it will push the sports documentary genre in any new direction, which ultimately feels like a disservice to the great Celtics franchise.

The main attraction of “Celtics City” is its exclusive interviews with basketball greats, including Jayson Tatum, Larry Bird, the late great Bill Walton, and Paul Pierce. Episode 1, which is called “Founding Fathers,” specifically focuses on one of the first basketball celebrities, Bob Cousy, as well as his teammates. Although Bill Russell has now passed away, the show also weaves in old footage of him talking about his time wearing green. Snatches of conversation with Bird and Tatum are brought into Cousy’s interview, which will tantalize any Celtics superfan to keep watching to see these players cover the modern day and the 1980s. Including the perspective of players makes it clear that the Celtics were built upon a diversity of personalities and perspectives, all united in one goal: winning. The choice of focusing on player interviews also allows fans to feel connected to the Celtics greats whom they have watched for decades.

The premiere also effectively contextualizes the rise of the Celtics and the franchise’s effect on other historical happenings in the United States, displaying how sports affected the Civil Rights Movement. Specifically, the first episode shows how the Celtics helped diminish the color barrier in the early NBA. The documentary covers how the Celtics were one of the first teams to have a Black NBA player, Chuck Cooper. This inclusion of Cooper on the team in 1950 is shown to have both reduced racism in sports and generated extreme pressure on Black players. The impact of this inclusion is emphasized with news footage from the Civil Rights Movement and newspaper clippings. “Celtics City” shows that the NBA had an effect on the world outside of the court, substantiating its claims of Celtics greatness with examples of real-world impact.

While the first episode is all about the founding fathers, the premiere keeps modern fans included by showing the parallels between the first days of the C’s and the modern players. Red Auerbach is set up as the cornerstone of Boston excellence, with his laser focus and demanding presence. The documentary cuts between his beliefs to footage of Joe Mazzulla in the modern day, with his intense stare and winning mindset, a reminder that the vision of Auerbach is still alive today. It’s clear that Auerbach’s advice to players could be given to today’s roster, and this idea is manifested in cuts between Red’s interviews and some clips of Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Through these editing choices, the premiere makes it clear that the lessons of the 1960s are key to the Celtics’ success today, and suggests that the 2025 title may depend upon continuing this founding legacy.

Amidst all this feel-good energy about the Celtics’ greatness, it’s easy to ignore the premiere’s flaws, but they’re still there. “Celtics City” is a classic documentary, focusing mostly on archival footage and interviews, and there is little visual flair throughout the entire episode. This leaves the episode visually bland, and it could have done with more creative shots or some added graphics. The editing can also be jarring at times, as the documentary tries to balance players’ testimonies, historical footage, fan voices, and journalist perspectives. The story behind the Celtics is done justice verbally, but visually, the premiere doesn’t put Boston in the best light. A team as innovative as the Celtics deserves better-thought-out visuals.

Boston fans are intense. It’s a tough task to please them, but as long as you’re not looking for creative visuals, “Celtics City” will do the trick. The premiere touches on the foundations of the Celtics legacy and promises plenty of exclusive content with New England legends. Technically, there isn’t a lot going on with the documentary, but when the viewer is seeing green, they probably won’t mind. Fans are key to where the Celtics are today, and “Celtics City” is a perfect treat for those who are rooting for Boston to hoist up Banner 19 this spring.

—Staff writer Hannah E. Gadway can be reached at hannah.gadway@thecrimson.com.