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Celts are Currently Looking Iffy; Let’s Turn to Wormtown B-ball Hype

Basketball in the Woo — BACK IN THE DAY: Once upon a time, Worcester had pro basketball, briefly…

Being a Massachusetts sports fan is not without its hardships. Worcester is not exempt from the New England Sports franchise fandom! Once upon a time, for a year, Worcester had pro hoops, but today, we follow the Celtics, right??!

Despite some pretty incredible eras in New England Sports history with the sum of 3 pro teams (Celts, Red Sox, Pats) bringing in a whopping 13 titles in the first quarter of the millennium, New England has now turned to the Celtics as most likely championship seed in recent years. With Banner 18 raised to Garden rafters two seasons ago, sports fans have held tight to the notion that the (seemingly nonchalant) Mazzulla-led Celts have what it takes to repeat the Bill Russel or Larry bird era. Last season was heart-breaking. “Details…”

In other sports, the NFL New England Patriots’ Tom Brady is an undeniable legend with his 7-3 Superbowl career record. Then there is the memorable blunder in 2018 when a Red sox fan broke the trophy with a beer can celebrating one of the best assembled NLB teams in history. The Bruins Stanley cup in 2011 was hockey’s last big Massachusetts win. WUW hopes the Railers can get it going for Pro sports in the city!

Here at What’s Up Worcester, one mission is to focus on hyper-local organizations and information and another is to spolight our city’s youth.

Keep reading for more!

Back to Basketball…It’s been a minute since New England has felt as secure in its professional teams as in the Celtics and fans don’t give up easily! Last season 2024-2025 came to a painful end in the playoffs, but the year before was epic! No one will easily forget the collective elation when the 2023-24 NBA team led by Jason Tatum brought home Banner 18. The Duck Boat parade that shut down Boston on June 21, 2024 drew a million fans to the streets in true Celtics pride. Many Worcester residents took the day off work and carpooled out to Beantown.

In that same month, June 2024, Tony Massarotti (98.5 FM’s Mazz) said it best, “Today, we stop asking if Tatum and Brown can win a championship together. And we start asking how many.” NBA.com released a four part series, An Oral Account of What Drove the Celtics to Banner 18, By Taylor Snow. No pressure! Fans were depending on the epic 2024-25 roster boasting two superstars, Jason Tatum (JT) and Jaylen Brown (JB), and a bench depth that looked unstoppable on paper. Worcester was also on its toes, mobilized for another epic playoff season.

Fun fact: A secretive Celtics 2024 championship commercial was shot on Front St overnight a day before their predicted win. Read story here

The Railers hosted “Banner 18 Game Night” on January 31, 2025, an all-out Wormtown celebration with the Larry O’ Brien trophy and Celtics dance team.

And then it was over. The Celts brutally fell to the Knicks, 2-4 in the Eastern Conference finals.

This led to major roster changes this 2025-26 season, with a much shorter and younger lineup, including 19 year old rookie guard Hugo Gonzalez. This year in early October, the 2025-26 Boston Celtics looked decent in pre-season, even with Tatum out for the year and loss of 4 imporant players. Among trades were clutch bigs; Kristaps Porzingas, reserve hero Al Horford and bird man Luke Kornet- as well as steadfast Jrue Holiday. Trades were made partly in order to retain currently injured superstar Jason Tatum on his massive salary, a $314 million supermax deal, and Jaylen Brown on his $286 million supermax. (This article won’t get started on Caitlin Clark’s comparitvely meek three figure salary and equity for the WNBA.)

The Celts gained some young talent, but who will step up in Tatum’s absence to bag the Celts (1-3) first win this season? The pressure is on JB to lead, and Derek “D” White is always solid. Pritch and Queta are finally coming off the bench for some starting playtime, so there is hope that player development with “sicko” Joe Mazzulla’s unique brand of coaching can set this new amalgamation of players up for success. Will rookies will rise to the level of Celtics franchise play? Time will tell. Thank goodness for the blowout against the Pelicans October 27. (Insert a collective New England sports fan sigh) Phew.

Spoiler alert, even the best predictions cannot fully answer these questions, but sports betting enthusiasts and basketball statisticians will try! Here at What’s Up Worcester, one mission is to focus on hyper-local organizations and information, and another is to spolight our city’s youth. We found out Worcester DOES HAVE HOOPS.

What’s Up with Local Basketball?

Worcester has a Professional ABA team. Games have historically been played at Assumption. WUW looks forward to learning more. https://worcestermajors.org https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Worcester-Majors-100063925159581/

With 8 colleges in Worcester and courts all over the city, basketball is certainly being played in the city. Look up your college team schedule on your school portal page.

Additionally, a number of youth leagues, school teams and clinics are available to the city’s youngest ballers. The Worcester JCC and No Excuse Program offer skills clinics, camps and tam play. No Excuse has an AAU team as does Worcester Basketball Club. The Friendly House has a co-ed grades 2-9 program that runs 8 weeks and practices one weekday evening and has games on Sundays.

Who has more scoop on Hoops in the Woo? Share it and follow our What’s Up Worcester Facebook Group

Other sports

Baseball

Worcester Red Sox: A Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, playing in the International League at Polar Park.
Worcester Bravehearts: A collegiate summer baseball team in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, playing at Fitton Field.

Hockey

Worcester Railers: A professional ice hockey team in the ECHL, playing at the DCU Center.
Mass Pirates: An indoor football team that has played home games at the DCU Center, but has since moved to Lowell.

Football