📍 Portland, Maine
🏀 Home of the Maine Celtics

The seaside town of Portland, Maine may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking about professional basketball, but the town’s beloved minor league team is working to change that. The NBA G-League affiliate of the storied Boston Celtics franchise, the Maine Celtics are creating a legacy of basketball excellence here in the Pine Tree State.

Founded in 2009 as the Maine Red Claws, the team has been solely affiliated with Boston since 2012, rebranding as the Maine Celtics prior to the 2021 season in an effort to further strengthen the connection with their parent club. Maine has called the Portland Exposition Building home since the team’s inception, drawing some of the G-League’s largest crowds on average.

The Expo itself is a historic venue that dates back over a century. Constructed in 1914 and opened the following year, the Expo Building will become the oldest multi-purpose indoor arena in the United States following the impending demolition of iconic Matthews Arena in Boston. Its long history of hosting a mix of agricultural and sporting events makes the Expo Building a truly unique and special place for minor league basketball. The arena was even renovated prior to the arrival of the Red Claws in 2009, giving the team a fresh start at one of the country’s most remarkable venues.

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Maine has served as an important proving ground for young Celtics talent over the years, helping the squad make the playoffs more than a half dozen times, including a run to the G-League Finals in 2024. With often packed out crowds filling the bleachers, the next generation of Celtics stars will surely continue to hone their skills here on the historic hardwood of the Portland Exposition Building, carrying on a small – but crucial – part of their parent club’s decades-long legacy.