The Boston Celtics saw their hopes of repeating as champions come to an end when they were defeated by the New York Knicks in six games during their Eastern Conference semifinals series. While New York was happy to send their longtime rival home for the season, franchise legend Paul Pierce made it clear that he and his squad got the last laugh when all was said and done.

Pierce went viral during the Celtics-Knicks series when he guaranteed that Boston would win Game 2 after losing Game 1, saying he'd walk 20 miles to work if they lost the game. Sure enough, Boston lost, and Pierce delivered by showing himself walking to work. While it didn't help his squad eliminate New York, he believes that his decision to make good on his word helped the Indiana Pacers beat the Knicks in their Eastern Conference Finals series.

“I walked so the Knicks can sit lmao,” Pierce said after New York's season-ending defeat.

Paul Pierce hoping Celtics can get back on track ahead of 2025-26 campaign

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While Pierce is happy to see the Knicks season come to an end, his Celtics squad has some work to do this offseason. Their hopes of contending for a championship are up in the air after superstar forward Jayson Tatum suffered a ruptured Achilles in Game 4 against New York, which could lead the front office to make several big moves this offseason in an effort to avoid the penalties from the second apron of the NBA's new salary cap.

What that could end up leading to over the next few months remains to be seen, but it hasn't been a surprise to see several players on Boston's roster already begin to pop up in trade rumors in the wake of their season coming to an end. The Celtics need to thread the needle perfectly this offseason, and Pierce and the rest of the team's fanbase is putting their trust in president of basketball operations Brad Stevens to work his magic over the coming weeks.