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BOSTON (WHDH) - An estimated 1 million fans filled the streets of Boston from TD Garden to the Hynes Convention Center as the Celtics celebrated their NBA championship with a rolling rally duck boat parade Friday.
The parade stepped off moments after 11 a.m.
Just over 90 minutes later, as players, coaches, and team staff returned to TD Garden, Celtics Co-Owner Wyc Grousbeck thanked fans for their support.
“This was a life changing parade,” he said, before recalling celebrations after the Celtics’ last championship. “I remember 2008. This was twice as big, I swear.”
Friday’s festivities came four days after the Celtics closed out this year’s NBA Finals with a win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5.
Boston schools were closed due to the parade and parking restrictions were in place across much of the city. After days of sweltering heat, Friday also marked the end of the region’s heat wave as a sea breeze cooled temperatures in Boston.
Fans celebrated in the streets Monday night after Game 5 while Celtics players celebrated in their locker room.
Hours later, after the sun rose on a new day Tuesday, the Celtics were spotted at Hansom Field in Bedford boarding a plane bound for Miami.
Players, coaches and staff continued their celebrations during a short 24-hour stay in south Florida before returning to Boston, with the Larry O’Brien Trophy in tow, on Wednesday.
After more celebrations on Thursday, the city of Boston kicked off a raucous Friday near 10 a.m. with a pre-parade pep rally inside TD Garden.
“This was a team that was willing to face challenging decisions head on, tune out the non-believers, take big risks and truly work together to build something extraordinary,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. “As a result, today Boston is home to the undisputed greatest team in the NBA.”
“As great as they are on the court, these men are even better human beings,” said Gov. Maura Healey.
After the rally, players boarded duck boats and made their much-awaited turn onto Causeway Street, greeted by cheers and surrounded by clouds of confetti.
Near the intersection of Staniford Street and Cambridge Street, the crowd chanted “MVP” as Celtics star and NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown passed by. Brown held his MVP trophy and waved back at the crowd.
Around the same spot, Boston firefighters watched from the extended arm of a Boston fire department ladder truck.
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WATCH: 7’s Juliana Mazza rides in Celtics championship parade
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Within the crowd, 7NEWS spoke to people who traveled from other states to join in the revelry, including people from Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.
Many fans climbed up onto street signs and traffic lights to catch a glimpse of the star players rolling by.
In Copley Square, Celtics player Al Horford waved to fans while wearing a cowboy hat and caught basketballs thrown from fans seeking autographs.
The crowd chanted the name of second-year coach Joe Mazzulla and music played from the crowd.
Mazzulla, 35, became the youngest coach since 1970 to win an NBA championship with his team’s victory over Dallas.
He previously thanked fans, telling reporters at Hanscom Field on Wednesday “We’re grateful to the city.”
Friday’s parade was the 13th duck boat parade in Boston since the Patriots first boarded ducks in 2002 following their first Super Bowl title.
“This isn’t our first rodeo,” said Tom Vigna of Boston Duck Tours this week. “They’ve got it down to a science.”
Duck boats spent Thursday night at the Boston Duck Tours garage in Dorchester. Early Friday morning, the ducks traveled to TD Garden with a police escort. They arrived near 7 a.m. and were in place, ready to start the parade by 9 a.m.
“Everything’s positive,” said one duck boat driver. “What could be negative about today? The fans are happy. We’re excited.”
“I’m overwhelmed,” the same driver said. “Boston is on fire as we should be.”
While far from a first-time celebration, this was the first championship parade in Boston since 2019.
Typically, champion teams have ended their parades by entering an underground garage at the Hynes Convention Center where they leave their duck boats and switch to different forms of transportation.
In this case, the Celtics stayed on their ducks and looped back through Boston to TD Garden.
The return surprised some fans still gathered in the North End, who soon enjoyed a second look at star players.
Police helped keep some people away from the ducks while others stood just a few feet from the vehicles, passing memorabilia to players for autographs.
On Nashua Street, while duck boats sat stationary and while players waited to disembark, Derrick White was the subject of a new round of chants.
“D-White,” the crowd cheered.
White, who suffered a chipped tooth during Monday’s Game 5, showed his newly repaired tooth as he smiled to fans.
Speaking with 7NEWS a few moments later, Grousbeck said the Celtics front office spent 11 years building this year’s team.
With a new banner secured, he said people asked him on Thursday night about his expectations for the rolling rally.
“I said ‘I’m excited about 2008, still. Now we’ve got ‘24 to celebrate,’” he said.
“There’s just something special,” he added. “This is a great city. We’re the city of champions. We add another banner to the count. I love it.”
Grousbeck said he spent 10 minutes at the beginning of the parade filming the celebrations.
“I finally put the camera away because I can remember it,” he said.
Grousbeck said cheers along the parade route were “deafening.”
Still reveling in the excitement of the parade, Grousbeck said “It feels like we got more to do.”
On the to-do list:
- Design a ring
- Raise the banner
- And build for next year.
“Let’s go get another one,” Grousbeck said.
7News will be covering the Celtics’ rolling rally throughout the day on air, online and in the 7NEWS app.
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