New Celtics owner Bill Chisholm met with team in Sacramento, shared his message with Boston fans
New Boston Celtics owner Bill Chisholm had a chance to meet with the team ahead of Monday night's tilt against the Kings in Sacramento, and he had a simple message for everyone: "Keep doing what you're doing."
The Celtics did just that, winning a sixth straight game as they inch closer and closer to the NBA playoffs. Chisholm and his wife, Kimberly, had a great view of the 113-95 victory (and unfortunately, Jayson Tatum's ankle injury) at Golden 1 Center as they sat mid-court with Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé.
The Gardener, Massachusetts native has enjoyed a fairly quiet -- and successful -- life as a managing partner and co-founder of Symphony Technology Group. But he's been in the spotlight since agreeing to buy the Celtics for a record-setting $6.1 billion last week, and got to speak directly to Celtics fans Monday in Sacramento.
Even before the game, the Chisholm duo felt the love from Boston fans out on the west coast. As Kimberly explained to NBC Sports Boston's Abby Chinn during an in-game interview, their tour of the Golden 1 Center had to be paused a number of times because Celtics fans kept approaching them -- much to the Chisholm's delight.
"They kept having to stop and stop and stop because there were so many people in green like, 'Bill! Bill! And Billy Banners!' It was really an amazing embrace, even here in Sacramento," said Kimberly.
"Billy Banners" is an incredible nickname for the owner to receive from Celtics fans. Now it's up to him to live up to the lofty expectations that will follow the Grousbeck ownership, but it sounds like Chisholm is up to the challenge.
Bill Chisholm met with Celtics players, coaches
Chisholm got to meet with Celtics players and staff members ahead of the game, and did not shy away from sharing his message to the team during his in-game interview.
"The message was keep doing what you're doing, and if there's any way I and we can play any role, be a little helpful, we'd love to do that," he said, "I'm just so proud of what they've accomplished, and we hope to build on it with them."
Sound advice for the defending champion Celtics, who are one of the hottest teams in the NBA at the moment. Monday night's win was Boston's sixth straight and 11th in its last 12 games. The Celtics are all-but locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with 10 games remaining in the regular season.
Bill Chisholm on his emotions since buying Celtics
It has been quite the emotional roller coaster for Chisholm since the news broke last Thursday. As a lifelong Celtics fan, it's a dream come true for him to now own the team -- though he never believed such a dream was possible.
"Honestly, it's been emotional for me. As a kid growing up in New England -- I didn't even know to dream about this. Then, to have it happen, it was really emotional to share it with my family. Shout out to our kids, Will, Aidan, and Quentin," he said. "Just really special and emotional. I really understand what this is about and what it means to the people of Boston because I'm one of them. I'm gonna do it right."
While they soaked in a game in enemy territory Monday night, the Chisholms will be at the TD Garden soon enough. They plan on attending Celtics home games against the Miami Heat on April 2 and the Phoenix Suns on April 4, with many more games -- playoff games at that -- to follow.
"We'll be there a lot. It's a great homecoming for me and I have to pinch myself," said Chisholm. "I'm looking forward to really digging in with the community."
Chisholm's wife is a big Joe Mazzulla fan
Like many Boston fans, Kimberly Chisholm has become fascinated with Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla and interesting coaching style and approach to the game. Perhaps a little too fascinated, though such a thing happens when a coach leads a team to an NBA title in just his second season on the bench.
"It's actually weird because I said at some point, 'Bill, you need to tell Joe that I'm obsessed with him,' and he goes, 'That would actually be a little weird.' But I am because he's doing such an incredible job and he has such an incredible intensity," said Kimberly. "But he has a way, I mean, honestly, he's very funny and he has a way of interfacing. I'm always waiting for what's gonna come next, but he's just an incredible visionary, really."
While new ownerships tend to bring about change, which has created a bit of uncertainty around the franchise going forward, it's crystal clear that the new owner and his wife are diehard Celtics fans and are committed to keeping the franchise atop the NBA.
