The Uncanny Parallel Fates of the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Celtics

Let me start with a full disclaimer: I’m not a conspiracy theorist, and I don’t believe in divine intervention. But sometimes, digging as deep as you can into the trends of sports and its history is too much fun to ignore. Recently, I discovered some strikingly parallel trends between two franchises in different sports that seemed like fun to dissect.

So without further ado, let’s look at why the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Celtics seem to be in perfect synchronization in recent years:

Their Last Title Prior to 2024

That would be 2008. Both teams broke droughts of at least two decades, and both teams narrowly avoided the previous year’s champion as the Red Sox fell to the Rays, who ultimately fell to the Phillies, while the Spurs lost to the Lakers, who ultimately succumbed to the Celtics.

Trying to Stay at the Top

Both the Phillies and Celtics nearly had encores shortly after their championships. Philadelphia got back to the World Series but lost to the Yankees, while the Celtics returned two years later to the Finals only to fall to the Lakers. Both the Yankees and Lakers won titles in the years 2000 and 2009.

A Long Road Back to Glory

Both clubs failed to get back to the Finals for nearly a decade-and-a-half, even as the Celtics made the postseason virtually every year while the Phillies went a full decade without an appearance. That all changed in 2022, when the Phillies reached the World Series and Celtics made the NBA Finals. There, they ran into the Astros and Warriors, respectively, who are essentially the closest thing to dynasties their sports have. Both of those clubs won in the year 2017, and both would win again in 2022 as Philadelphia and Boston fell just short of a parade.

2023

It was close-but-no-cigar for the Phils and Celts in 2023, as their quests both died in the league/conference finals. The Phillies lost to Arizona and the Celtics lost to Miami, with both series going the full seven games. The Diamondbacks and Heat would then go on to lose the championship round in five games, falling to the Rangers and Nuggets, respectively, two franchises that finally captured their first titles.

Another Championship Coming For Philly?

We all know how 2024 turned out for the Boston Celtics, with the storied franchise winning its 18th title and first in 16 years. The Phillies have baseball’s best record at the moment, and plenty of optimism of coming through on their “World Series or bust” proclamation. If it does indeed happen, well, are we still just talking about a mere coincidence?