NBA insider analyzes Celtics' chances of breaking 7-year streak by winning back-to-back NBA titles

Winning the championship in the NBA is hard. What's more difficult is winning it in back-to-back years. But ESPN's Brian Windhorst at least expects the Boston Celtics to give it a good shot.

No team has won the Larry O'Brien Trophy in back-to-back years since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors, who had Kevin Durant at that time.

Windhorst cautions that throughout history, defending champions lose their edge after coming back from a title win. He even noted how the great Pat Riley needed to apply pressure on his Lakers team after two unsuccessful repeat bids.

However, while Windy predicts that Boston will mount a capable title defense this upcoming season, they may not have the same level of hunger after finally winning it all.

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"We’ve had seven consecutive years of not having a back-to-back champion," Windhorst said. "The last time we had a back-to-back champion was the Warriors, when they had arguably, one of the greatest teams of all time. I expect the Celtics to give a great title defense, but it's not going to be the same once you've won the championship."

The reigning champions have kept their key players and didn't lose a significant contributor to the team in the offseason. With that in mind, there's a major possibility that Boston could contend for a second-consecutive title next season.

Their head coach, Joe Mazzulla, is also fixated on winning another title and he doesn't want to waste time. Mazzulla expressed his desire to win back-to-back titles with the team, which is what they're preparing for the 2024-25 campaign.

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NBA legend on the Celtics stars' disrespect

After winning the title, there were expectations about how the NBA world would now view the Celtics. Unfortunately, their two stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, didn't have a great summer.

Even after they won the title, it wasn't enough for Brown to get a Team USA invite. His teammate, Tatum, was included in the national team that won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, he didn't get enough playing time with the team.

In Charles Barkley's appearance in "The Bill Simmons Podcast" on Wednesday, the former NBA star blasted the league for the disrespect the two stars received.

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"The NBA found a way to p*ss both of them off this summer, how bout that?" Chuck said. "All of the NBA could do that, but let’s p*ss off two of the top 10 players in the NBA after they’re coming off a championship, seriously!"

With the disrespect they had over the summer, Barkley believes it will take their confidence to another level as they mount their title defense.

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