Charles Barkley Says One Player Needs to Step Up If Boston Celtics Want to Repeat

Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis could be the key to the team’s title defense this year.

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis and forward Jayson Tatum react after a play against the Brooklyn Nets. / David Butler II-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics dropped Game 1 of their playoff series against the New York Knicks on Monday, blowing a 20-point lead as they rode a historically bad shooting night all the way to an unlikely overtime loss.

Before the game tipped off, Charles Barkley of TNT’s Inside the NBA was calling on one Celtic in particular to step up his game: Kristaps Porzingis.

“I said last year, once they got Porzingis, the championship was a wrap,” Barkley began. “I said that last year. If he doesn’t pick up his game, the Celtics are not going to win the championship this year.”

Barkley went as far as saying that the Celtics’ hopes of making it out of the East largely rested on Porzingis’s shoulders.

“When Porzingis plays well, he takes this team to a whole other level,” Barkley said. “But he has not been consistent, Ernie. If he doesn’t pick it up, they’re not going to win the East.”

"If [Porziņģis] doesn't pick up his game, the Celtics are not gonna win the championship this year."

Chuck's looking for KP to level up in the Semis 👀 pic.twitter.com/wXyh8Gjwii

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 5, 2025

On the court on Monday, Barkley’s words proved somewhat prophetic.

Porzingis struggled on Monday when he was on the court at all—he played just 13 minutes before leaving the game due to illness, missing all four of his shots from the floor. Time will tell if he’s able to get back to full strength for Game 2 on Wednesday night.

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