Who won parade day? Celtics share favorite memories from rolling rally

The Boston Celtics took their world victory tour to the nation’s capital Thursday for a fancy rendezvous with President Biden on the White House’s South Lawn. But, let’s be honest: Whether it’s Abu Dhabi, Washington, D.C. or any spot in between, the Celtics’ title celebration is unlikely to get any better than how it started with a rolling rally through downtown Boston.

Five months ago, it wasn’t about suits and ties. It was shorts and playful T-shirts as the Celtics navigated their way through the 1 million fans that lined the streets of Boston.

You remember all the high points, right? Joe Mazzulla exiting his boat to celebrate with fans on the street. Kristaps Porzingis sporting a WWE championship belt. Sam Hauser barfing in a cooler. 

When the Celtics reconvened in September for the start of their title defense, we asked all the returning players whether they had the most fun on parade day.

"Sam threw up, so Sam might have [had the most fun],” deadpanned Jayson Tatum, echoing a familiar sentiment among teammates who very much enjoyed Hauser’s epic boot and (rolling) rally. 

“The parade was awesome,” said Jaylen Brown. "You saw a bunch of guys having fun. Sam Hauser was completely wrecked. You know what I mean? We had some guys having some good times. KP was out of there. Joe was in the stands walking around. So we had some guys having some good times.”

Hauser, occasionally shirtless and perpetually reveling, certainly soaked up the atmosphere. He smoked a cigar, he wore the champagne-soaked goggles from Boston’s locker room celebration, and he helped empty the beer cooler that he would at least partially restock. Teammates couldn’t help but suggest that he might have won parade day.

Still, we gave each player an opportunity to state their own case and reflect on a jubilant trek through the city: 

Jayson Tatum

Signature parade moment: Rode at front of parade with the Larry O’Brien Trophy in his grasp

"I think [I had the best time] because I had the trophy on my duck boat. So that was the best two-hour experience ever. … I had an idea what it would be like. And I knew that Boston loved us and loved me. But after the parade, it was like, ‘Wow.’

"... [Another parade is] really the motivation. I know what it meant to the city. I know what it meant to the fans. I know how we felt the night we won. I know how everybody in Boston felt on this day. And that's the motivation of like, ‘Man, I want to have that experience again.’”

Jaylen Brown

Signature parade moment: Rode through parade in a “State your source” T-shirt while hoisting the Finals MVP trophy 

“I don’t think anyone’s had more fun than me the entire summer … To be honest, the [parade] for me was surreal because I haven't really felt like at any point in my career, I was fully embraced by the city of Boston. I was booed, there's been trade rumors, there’s been stuff about like, ‘Did he deserve this or deserve that?’

"… I just appreciated this moment … It just feels awesome to be able to just embrace and be embraced in this moment. … It was nothing but love. So that felt great."

Mark Garfinkel/NBC10 Boston

Jrue Holiday

Signature parade moment: Enjoyed a low-key ride through the city after noting he is, “Glad I’m on this side,” before the team rolled out from TD Garden

"Great feeling, man, knowing that the job was done and we did it together and now we get to celebrate with the people. It was a crazy day … I feel like I won because I mean, I enjoyed myself. I got to spend it with my family. I got to spend it with the fans.

"But I do know Sam Hauser had a great day. Sam Hauser had a great day. So I'll probably say it was Sam.” 

Kristaps Porzingis

Signature parade moment: Showed up with a WWE championship belt and, as usual, never stopped smiling while draped in a Latvian flag

"I didn't see other guys but I think I was top three, like, hyping up the fans. I think the No. 1 spot I have to give to Luke [Kornet]. I think he was really good. … That day, just the energy in the whole city was unbelievable. Unbelievable. And, you know, how tired I was in the morning, then I was like energized by the end of that parade. And just, yeah, I think a feeling that’s hard to replicate. It’s going to be hard to replicate ever again, you know? Hopefully we can. But outside of basketball, this is peak."

NBC10 Boston

Derrick White

Signature parade moment: Wore “Nobody Cares” T-shirt as an ode to Joe Mazzulla, who offered that rebuttal when White congratulated him for winning Coach of the Month during the 2023-24 season

"It was unbelievable. Sam maybe had too much fun. But I had a great time. It was a lot of fun. Great people around me. Just had a great time with everybody

"… I actually had a different shirt when I came in. And then [assistant coach] Matt [Reynolds] was like, 'Look at this.’ And I'm like, 'I'm gonna wear that tonight.’ And so that's kind of how it started. And it was awesome.”

Sam Hauser

Signature parade moment: Caught throwing up in a beer cooler but barely slowed his debauchery

“I’ll tell you what, I wasn't on any other floats, but I know our float really enjoyed it. To be honest, I had no recollection of …” (laughter when this reporter misconstrues his words to mean he doesn’t remember the parade) … “No, no, no. I didn't know what to expect. And, whatever I thought it was going to be, it blew it out of the water.

"Like, the moment we came out of the tunnel there, and just the swarm of people that were right there, it gave me chills just coming out of there. It was so cool. So cool.”

And his retching? "There's no pacing on parade day, all right?” 

Al Horford

Signature parade moment: Wore a T-shirt that depicted a drunk Tom Brady during Tampa Bay’s rolling rally after Super Bowl LV

"I enjoyed that one to the fullest. It was incredible, the energy of the people. I just didn't expect it to be at that level. So I really enjoyed that to the fullest. And being there with my wife, my kids, my parents, my brother is in that picture there, too, and being there was just so unique for me.

"I was telling people, I didn't know what to expect. And just the love of the people, everybody just celebrating the moment together, the city rallying together.

"It was actually longer than I thought. It just kind of kept going and I was like, 'Well, we're gonna keep doing it and we're going for it.' And then when it was over and it was like, ‘Oh.' I think my son [Ean said,] ‘Can we go around again?,' I was like, 'I think that's for next year.’"

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Payton Pritchard

Signature parade moment: Tossing drinks to fans from his duck boat and autographing basketballs tossed on board

"I enjoyed myself for sure. I feel like that's how you've got to treat a parade. So it's not many people get to do it, so we're about to take it in.

"… It was definitely crazy to see how many people there were. So it just made for a crazy experience and hopefully one we can relive again.”

Luke Kornet

Signature parade moment: Starting an endless stream of chants on the final player boat in the procession

"So the weird thing is, you have no idea how it's going for other people. But I have trouble thinking it would have been better elsewhere. See, I had Jordan Walsh here. By the end, I feel like we developed a bit of a chemistry and rapport, which was also a lot of crowd work and trying to figure out what works on a parade because you're moving. … The second you round the first corner, I was like, 'Oh, wow, yeah, this is going to be exciting.’

"I really came in — we had a nice morning. I think I had a nice cup of coffee and nice little breakfast. And I was like, ‘All right, we're going to do a parade. We'll see how that goes.’ And then it kind of just took off from the moment. And then you're just reacting, you know, it's like the game

"… What stood out? Frankly, just having all the people together before and then we dispatch, we're kind of all doing our own type of deal. I want to say I was proud of Jordan because, at the beginning, first off, I don't know if he was 20 or still 19. It's a lot to experience for a young guy. And I wanted to be someone who could shepherd him through the experience. And I feel like by the time we got to the end, we were working the crowd, we had energy.

"Look at that participation we had going on. So I was proud of him. And I was proud of my boat. We had a lot of the medical team on, which people were throwing beverages at certain points, so they were necessary. I was glad that I was on that boat.” 

Jordan Walsh

Signature parade moment: Riding shotgun with Kornet on the hype float, repeatedly pointing at his ring finger in celebration 

"I was having a great time. I thought that it was gonna be a more quiet, like just stroll, ride through the city. No, no, no. I thought Luke was gonna just like chill. But he got me into it. And I was like, ‘All right, now we're counting. We’re interacting with the fans.'

"He made it more and more fun, I feel like for sure. I think the best part, Luke started a chant. We were counting from 1 to 18. And it was when we got to 18, everybody went crazy. That was definitely like the most amazing part.”

Joe Mazzulla

Signature parade moment: Jumping down from duck boat to emphatically celebrate with fans along the route (despite a torn meniscus)

“Last year, what we were able to accomplish, brought me a perspective of how important everyone's role is and how important this has an impact on people's families. And how important seeing people's wives, seeing people's kids, seeing people's families, this is so much bigger than just the coaches and the players. It's about all the people that allow us to do our job.

"Seeing everyone together, it was like, 'This is a culmination of everybody playing their part to helping us achieve success.' And hopefully everybody feels like they played a part in achieving success. So that's kind of what I look at when I see [his son Manny on the parade float]. For me, one of the things being from this area is you want to build a connection to the city. You want to build a connection to the characteristics of the city, the toughness, the togetherness, the chip on the shoulder. And that was a culmination of the intensity that I feel like the city brings and creates for us. And you have to match that.

"So. it was a moment of the culmination to just build that connection to the city. And outside of winning, that’s one of the most important things.”