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The Celtics championship blueprint will be impossible to copy

But I thought it was funny, among the narrative shifts, that there is now talk about the Celtics being the blueprint for how to build a champion.

Conventional wisdom has said that it takes a top three player to win a title, and a look at the recent championships seems like confirmation.

But with the Celtics’ win, the new working theory is that teams should try to match the Celtics, who have two All-NBA-caliber two-way wings, two selfless All-Defense guards, two sharp-shooting bigs, and who are switchable and relentless on defense.

To which I say: good luck with it. You have a better chance of picking a future MVP in the draft than building a complex, cohesive roster that reflects the Celtics.”

Credit goes to Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck (left) and president of basketball operations Brad Stevens (right) for signing the invaluable Jrue Holiday.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff

Once you get past the improbability of finding two versatile, durable wings like Tatum and Brown, comes the hard part: finding a Jrue Holiday And a Derrick White.

I mean, how many guys are there like her in the league? It’s not more than five, it’s probably not more than three – and the Celtics have two.

▪ Unless you’re a quirky Celtics fan who for some reason is also a huge Jack Sikma supporter, you’ve probably never thought much — or even anything — about the 1989-90 Milwaukee Bucks.

But the revelation this week that Al Horford and Luke Kornet’s fathers — that would be Tito Horford and Frank Kornet — were teammates on the Del Harris-coached Bucks team revealed an eerie assortment of other ties to the Celtics.

Tito Horford (left) was constantly present at Celtics games, watching his son Al.Jim Davis/Globe Staff

In addition to the Horford-Kornet duo (who played a combined 674 minutes for the 44 Bucks wins), Celtics assistant coach Phil Pressey’s father, Paul, a point forward who was ahead of his time, played 57 games for them.

The roster included ex-Celtics Gerald Henderson, Fred Roberts, Brad Lohaus, Jay Humphries and Jerry Sichting, who played 27 minutes in his only game, the last of his career.

Tony Brown, who was part of Doc Rivers’ Celtics coaching staff for three seasons, also played for that team.

▪ A few days after the credits rolled on this unforgettable season, I still have the feeling of last Monday night.

This is my favorite of all the Boston sports champions I’ve had the pleasure of covering in my 20 years at the Globe. I don’t think the emergence of other championship teams or moving away from the euphoria of the moment will change that either.

This team has so many rare and special elements:

The deep camaraderie in their quest to achieve their collective championship dreams; I haven’t seen many teams where the superstars and the deep reserves are the best of friends.

An affirmation for Tatum and Brown and those who believed in them during their uneven rise.

Horford is rewarded for his second time with the Celtics; When he left as a free agent after the maddening 2019 season, it felt like the end of something important. If Horford decided it was time to leave, maybe this used to be irreparable.

Turns out it was indeed a low point. But it was far from the end. And enduring those frustrations along the way only made this all the sweeter.

▪ Perhaps the most distinctive thing about these Celtics is their emphasis on family, especially fatherhood.

I’ve never seen a team that had so many player kids around during games. Deuce Tatum and Ean Horford were there so often that they might be in line for playoff shares.

I believe it has made this group even closer. As you may have seen in the extraordinary “All-In” episode that took place on Tuesday, Deuce even provided a moment of levity after Game 3 of the Finals, declaring in the locker room, “We almost lost!”

Holiday’s reaction was probably the hardest. I’ve seen him laugh all season.

▪ One of my favorite vignettes about this postseason run came after Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals in Indianapolis. It was fitting that it was a dad thing.

Holiday had seized the game for the Celtics with a pair of late baskets and an instantly legendary steal as the Pacers tried to take the lead. As he took the stage for a press conference, he said softly, “Come on. Come on.”

It was not clear, at least to me, who he was talking to or what he meant.

Then I heard a little voice behind me: “But Dad said I could come up.”

It was Holiday’s 7-year-old daughter, JT. Before getting permission from her mother, Lauren, she ran down the aisle, realizing her father’s “come on” was for her, and joined him and her little brother on stage.

It was a small moment, but it has stuck with me as one that nicely sums up what these Celtics stood for. Getting through the biggest moments, time and time again, and sharing those successes with everyone, especially the people they care about most.

Legacies don’t get much better than that.


Chad Finn can be reached at [email protected]. follow him @GlobeChadFinn.