BOSTON (WHDH) - As the crowds thinned downtown and as streets reopened along the Celtics championship parade route in Boston Friday, the reigning NBA champions expressed their gratitude for their supportive fans.
The parade stepped shortly after 11 a.m. and snaked through Boston on its way to the Hynes Convention Center. By 12:45 p.m., players were back at TD Garden.
While it’s not Jrue Holiday’s first championship win, he had a feeling this year’s parade would be different.
“It’s pretty cool,” Holiday said. “There weren’t this many people last time, so I’m excited.”
It was difficult for some of the players to pick their favorite moments.
“Just enjoying the people, the city, the vibes, got a lot of Chance going — that was great,” said player Luke Kornet.
Some of the champions were almost speechless with the amount of support they received.
“This is like top five best experiences in my life,” Xavier Tillman said. “I can see why people want to repeat and win as many championships as possible once they get their first one, because that experience from the fans makes it everything.”
Coach Joe Mazzulla’s message to Boston fans was one of gratitude.
“I mean, the city’s the reason why we are who we are, and just the support that they’ve been able to give us throughout the year, and just their passion, and so building a connection to the city’s the most important thing,” Mazzulla said.
Though the parade was over, players were far from done celebrating. Soon, they were spotted with the Larry O’Brien trophy in hand at Cisco Brewers on Northern Avenue in the Seaport.
“It was a good time,” said Mazzulla when asked about the parade at Cisco.
News cameras spotted several players in the Seaport before they eventually left the area.
While the Celtics were gone, many fans remained near 4 p.m., happy to continue their own celebrations on a day that saw roughly one million people flock to the city to celebrate another Boston championship.
“It never gets old,” one fan said.
“It was incredible,” said another fan. “Honestly, I’ve never had an experience like this before.”
Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck said the parade was “life-changing.” Sixteen years after participating in the Celtics’ 2008 championship parade, he said this celebration was “twice as big.”
“We’ve had support all year,” said fellow team co-owner Steve Pagliuca. “People love this team. They should love this team.”
“There’s just nothing like this,” he said. “There’s nothing like this experience.”
Be it the parade, a short celebratory trip to Miami earlier this week, or their after party in the Seaport Friday afternoon, the Celtics’ celebrations have continued since the final buzzer sounded on Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.
Looking ahead, Grousbeck said there is plenty of additional time to celebrate as Boston pursues additional championship glory.
“I’m excited about 2008, still,” he said. “Now we’ve got ‘24 to celebrate,’”
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