Highlights and best moments from the Celtics’ 2024 championship parade

Highlights and best moments from the Celtics’ 2024 championship parade originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla has already begun preparations for the 2024-25 season, but for most of the 2023-24 Boston Celtics, it’s time to celebrate.

The Celtics held a victory parade in Boston on Friday, capping a week that saw them beat the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals to win their NBA-record 18th championship.

The parade began at 11 a.m. ET in front of TD Garden, with the city of Boston packed into a frenzy to celebrate the Celtics’ first championship since 2008 and the region’s first “Big Four” professional sports championship since the New England Patriots won Super Bowl LIII.

Below is a roundup of the best moments before, during and after the parade.

1:42 PM ET: Joe Mazzulla’s son was just as enthusiastic as his father…

1:35 PM ET: Despite Joe Mazzulla’s torn meniscus, the Celtics head coach jumped off the duck boat and enthusiastically high-fived the crowd.

1:20 PM ET: Boston sports fans displayed some of their most hated behavior on Friday, with Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid being one of the victims.

1:15 PM ET: Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens got plenty of cheers from the Boston crowd.

1:12 PM ET: Derrick White had a cool shirt with the phrase “Nobody Cares,” which is a reference to something Joe Mazzulla said to White when congratulating him on winning the NBA Coach of the Month award earlier this season.

1:10 PM ET: it’s not Really The championship parade continued until someone took off their shirt, and Sam Hauser responded.

1:05 PM ET: Jayson Tatum and his son Deuce enjoyed a duck boat ride.

1:00 PM ET: Jaylen Brown’s victory lap continues:

12:50 PM ET: Drew Carter, who will be the full-time play-by-play announcer for Celtics games for NBC Sports Boston next season, recounted some of the love Mike Gorman received from Celtics fans along the parade route:

12:30 PM ET: Here’s your first look at Banner 18, put up by Celtics majority owner Wyck Grousbeck.

12:28 PM ET: You didn’t think 2008 champion and Basketball Hall of Famer Paul Pierce would miss another Celtics parade, did you?

12:25 PM ET: For anyone still wondering about Jaylen Brown’s ball-handling ability, check out this video of the NBA Finals MVP showing off his skills while riding a duck boat next to Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca.

12:22 PM ET: Jayson Tatum shared a first-person photo of himself on a duck boat holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy on his Instagram Story.

12:19 PM ET: No one knows how to get a crowd going like Celtics big man Luke Kornet.

12:03 PM ET: Derrick White is making sure Boston fans stay hydrated…

12pm ET: Celtics veteran Al Horford is ecstatic after winning his first NBA championship in his 17th season.

11:58 AM ET: Celtics shooter Sam Hauser went undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft. Now he’s an NBA champion.

11:55 AM ET: Head coach Joe Mazzulla wore a great shirt featuring Celtics legends Red Auerbach and Bill Russell celebrating their championships from the 1960s. It was a fitting choice, as Mazzulla had just become the youngest head coach to win an NBA championship since Russell in 1969.

11:50 AM ET: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown received thunderous applause as the Duck Boat began sailing through the streets of Boston.

11:45 AM ET: Legendary NBC Sports Boston play-by-play announcer Mike Gorman is savoring the moment after the Celtics whisked him away to retirement with a championship.

11:30 AM ET You didn’t think Mavs star Luka Doncic would escape the wrath of Celtics fans, did you?

11:15 AM ET: Jayson Tatum criticized the Miami Heat during a pregame interview with NBC Sports Boston’s Brian Scalabrine inside TD Garden.

10:45 AM ET: Kristaps Porzingis is ready to party.

10:45 AM ET: Al Horford showed up to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl parade in February 2021 wearing a shirt with a picture of Tom Brady having fun, and Brady approved.

10:25 AM ET: Jaylen Brown kept the receipts.

The 2024 NBA Finals MVP entered TD Garden wearing a shirt that read “Sources Included” in tribute to a social media post he made in late May blasting ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith’s assertion that some people believe Brown has too big an ego and therefore is unmarketable.

10:15 AM ET: Celtics guard and half-court buzzer-beater specialist Payton Pritchard paid tribute to his alma mater, Oregon, with his parade outfit.

10:10 AM ET: A pre-parade interview with Luke Cornett and Abby Chin did not disappoint: the affable giant recounted his first parade experience, lamented not bringing sunscreen, and confessed to putting maple syrup (!) in his coffee.

9:55 AM ET: Abby Chin caught up with guard Derrick White after his brutal fall in Game 5, where he showed off his new dental work and gave a shout-out to sponsor Sam Adams.