Maine Celtics earn #7 seed at Winter Showcase Tournament

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Maine Celtics are one of eight teams who will compete for $100,000 and the Showcase Cup at the upcoming NBA G League Tip-Off Tournament at the Winter Showcase.

After finishing the Tip-Off schedule with a 9-5 record, Maine earned the #7 seed. They will take on #2 Salt Lake City (12-2) on Friday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The full Winter Showcase schedule can be found here.

"You get to play for money and you got to put your all into it," said Celtics forward Aaron Scott. "We're ready and we are well prepared for it. We're going to put everything on the line and get that extra cash and the trophy."

If Maine wins on Friday, they will advance to the semifinals where they would face the winner between the #3 Austin Spurs and #6 Stockton Kings on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPNU. If the Celtics lose to the Salt Lake City Stars, Maine would play Sunday at 12 p.m. against the loser of that game on NBA TV.

"There's a lot of front office executives that will be there," said Maine Head Coach Phil Pressey. "All the teams will be there so it's a ground to showcase what you can do versus some of the best in the G League."

This is the first time Maine has advanced to the in-season tournament at the Winter Showcase since 2022. Maine was the #8 seed that year, and the Celtics knocked off top-seeded South Bay in the quarterfinals. Maine fell in the semifinals to eventual Showcase Cup champion the Ontario Clippers.

Each team's record has now reset and this season, games played at the Winter Showcase will count towards the teams' regular season record. The final Winter Showcase championship game does not count toward the regular season.

"It's a reset right. You start back 0-0. Being able to build the framework of what we do, we get to take it into the new season," Pressey said. "Being able to do that from the beginning, we had a good start, but it's not enough. Our guys understand where we are trying to get to, and that will start at the Showcase."