Stunning statistic proves Boston as the 21st century's city of champions

The Celtics' 2024 NBA Finals victory gave the Boston area its first championship since the New England Patriots won Super Bowl LIII in February 2019.

Many cities may scoff at Boston sports fans' complaints about waiting five-plus years between titles, but those die-hard followers could respond that the world has changed drastically in the last half-decade.

In non-sports news, there's been a global pandemic, the end of one United States president's first term, a presidential election and nearly another entire first term for a different commander-in-chief.

In Boston, the teams across the big four professional sports leagues have seen countless changes.

On the ice, despite four seasons of over 100 points (including a record-setting 2022-23 campaign), the Bruins haven't advanced past the second round since 2019. They've seen a head-coaching change and the retirements of legends David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron, who helped lead the team to their last Stanley Cup in 2011.

Before their breakthrough against the Dallas Mavericks, the Celtics hadn't won a championship since 2008, even though they'd advanced at least to the Eastern Conference Finals three times (and the Finals once) from 2020-23. Joe Mazzulla has been their third head coach since 2021, and the team has said goodbye to the likes of (now enemy) Kyrie Irving and former fan favorite Marcus Smart in recent years. Legendary Boston figures like Bill Russell, Bill Walton and Tommy Heinsohn have passed away in the last three-plus years alone.

On the gridiron, the Patriots have steadily fallen into rebuild mode, but not before the departure of Tom Brady, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, led them to a championship that season and subsequently retired twice. New England parted ways with iconic head coach Bill Belichick in January and hired former star linebacker Jerod Mayo as their next leader.

The Boston Red Sox have made the playoffs just once since their most recent World Series title in 2018, advancing to the ALCS in 2021. They've seen two changes at the Chief Baseball Officer/President of Baseball Operations, firing Dave Dombrowski in 2019 and getting rid of Chaim Bloom last September. Boston hired former left-handed pitcher Craig Breslow as its new CBO in October. 

During the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal investigation, the Red Sox mutually decided to let go of manager Alex Cora (the Astros' former bench coach) in November 2019. Mookie Betts — who won the 2018 AL MVP and was presumed to be a franchise cornerstone — was controversially traded in February 2020. However, Cora returned as the manager in November of that year.

Since their postseason run in 2021, the Red Sox have had back-to-back last-place finishes in the competitive AL East, ending with identical 78-84 records. They've allowed multiple longtime or important members of the team to walk in free agency, including four-time All-Star Xander Bogaerts in December 2022.

While the Patriots and Red Sox aren't particularly close to competing for another championship, they can still fondly remember their 10 combined crowns this millennium.

The Bruins have been the slackers in Boston with just one title since 2000 but have been consistent contenders over the last decade.

With the "Jays" leading an elite core, the Celtics are easily the best positioned for Boston's next title to solidify further the city's "City of Champions" label.