The engine in the forest: how the Maine Celtics built a model franchise in minor-league sports

“This area, for sports, has such a steep history that exists when you talk about championship pedigree,” Eubanks said. “No other area in the country — New England, six states — can say that they have a professional sports team in that New England property.”

Eubanks, an imposing 6-foot-9-inch executive with a warm presence and a resonant voice, currently holds dual titles as president of the Maine Celtics and vice president with the Boston Celtics. His journey with the franchise began at its inception in 2009, when the team was known as the Maine Red Claws. Facilitating everything from corporate partnerships to executive leadership, Eubanks has steered the team through exponential growth, an NBA buyout, a global pandemic, and a high-stakes brand transformation.

“Being a big man of action and being accessible to people — especially the young people we come in contact with — is central to how we approach our work,” Eubanks said, reflecting on his community-first operational mindset. “More times than not, I’ve navigated rooms where I had to prove I belonged. But my background taught me that you deserve to be wherever you choose to be, as long as you put in the work and stay grounded in your values.”

From local charm to Boston engine

When the franchise tipped off in 2009 as the Red Claws, it was an immediate local hit starting from opening night.

“We had Austin Ainge as our coach. We brought in the (acrobat) Red Panda, who was the number one act in the world at that time … And, man, it was electric,” Eubanks said. “I’m not sure the Expo ever had 3,000 people in it at one time, but it did that night. We crammed everyone in.”

Northern New England’s hungry basketball market embraced the team with open arms, stringing together 48 consecutive sellouts at the Expo to open its franchise history.

“From a marketing standpoint, when you’re building brands, what you’re offering is either going to drive itself, or you’re going to have to fan like hell to get that flame going,” Eubanks said with a chuckle. “The people here in Maine took the wheel on that first night and never turned back.”

In those early hybrid-affiliate days, the connection between Portland and NBA parent teams across the league was often transactional and piecemeal.

The turning point arrived in July 2019, when the Boston Celtics officially bought the Maine franchise outright. Eubanks worked hand in hand with Boston’s front office to execute the transition, which culminated in May 2021 with the official rebrand to the Maine Celtics.

The name change was far more than a marketing exercise; it was an alignment of operational philosophy. Today, what happens on the floor at the Portland Expo is a direct mirror of what happens at TD Garden. Playbooks, defensive terminology, sports medicine protocols, and developmental metrics are shared seamlessly between the two coaching staffs.

When Boston captured its 18th NBA championship, the fingerprints of the Portland program were all over the trophy. Players like Luke Kornet and Sam Hauser spent foundational stretches in Maine, refining their conditioning, execution, and role clarity before stepping into high-stakes playoff minutes in Boston.

“It’s a true team effort across both organizations,” Eubanks said. “We pride ourselves on not only developing basketball players, but developing the lives of young men and where their experience with an organization like the Maine Celtics and the Celtics proper can take them.”

The stars who lit up the Expo

While the franchise prides itself on system-first player development, the Portland floor has seen its share of high-octane individual talent and electrifying personalities that left indelible marks on the local fan base.

In 2012, Syracuse product Fab Melo set an all-time G League record by blocking 15 shots in a single game at the Expo, delivering one of the most absurd defensive displays in minor-league history. A few years later, point guard Tim Frazier put together a standout 2014-'15 season, earning both G League MVP and Rookie of the Year honors while driving the team to top-tier contention.

Eubanks marveled at Frazier’s impact on the team. Standing 5 feet, 11 inches tall, he was on the shorter side for the sport. But with the point guard at the helm, Eubanks said, the team went 35-15 that season and was within reach of the title.

“But then Tim got called up to the Trail Blazers. You want to talk about sore?” Eubanks said, laughing. “Yeah, but that’s part of this whole thing, man. We’re a pipeline. And we’re proud to put in the work that helps players like Tim take that next step in their journey.”

Wings like Abdel Nader — who won G League Rookie of the Year in 2017 — and high-volume draft picks like James Young also brought highlight-reel scoring to Maine weekend crowds.

Then came Tacko Fall.

During the 2019-'20 season, the year Maine was officially bought by the Celtics, the 7-foot-6-inch center created an unprecedented cultural phenomenon in Portland. Lines wrapped around the block in freezing temperatures just for fans to watch warmups. “Tacko Time” transcended sports, becoming a regional pop-culture movement that packed the Expo to 97-percent capacity night after night.

“I’m a big guy. I’m used to getting oversized stuff. I’m used to having to have things that are oversized,” Eubanks reminisced. “We had to go out and get special beds made. We had to have the showers at the Expo raised. We had to make a lot of accommodations.

“And it was part of the fabric of the experience that is the Maine Celtics,” Eubanks continued. “He was an invaluable member of the community while he was here, and we’ll always cherish that time we had with him.”

In the second half of the season, however, Fall and the team fell victim to circumstance. Like many other runs in the sports world, the Celtics’ season became an unfinished story due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdowns.

“Had that not happened? I don’t know, man …” Eubanks said. “I think we would have had that one.”

More recently, players like JD Davison and Neemias Queta helped lead Maine to its historic 2024 Eastern Conference championship and a berth in the G League Finals. Today, former Boston guard Phil Pressey — who once walked onto the Expo court as an assignment player — returns as the team’s head coach, completing a full-circle narrative that underscores the franchise’s sustainable internal culture.

A community pillar built to last

For Eubanks, success is never measured solely by win-loss records or how many players earn call-ups to the NBA. The true barometer lies in how deeply the team embeds itself into the fabric of Portland.

A former Harlem Globetrotter and Division I standout at Rice University, Eubanks understands basketball as a platform for connection. Under his leadership, the organization has spearheaded countless local initiatives. Eubanks co-founded Blue Wave Basketball in 2011 to provide structured youth development across southern Maine, and he actively serves on boards for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine and the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Whether hosting family-friendly matinees, launching food-security programs like “Fueling the Frontline” with local restaurants, or running youth clinics, the Maine Celtics have turned the Expo into a civic gathering place.

“When you step into our arena, you feel the closeness,” Eubanks said. “We’ve built something authentic here. It’s accessible, it’s high-level basketball, and it’s deeply rooted in community pride.”

As the lights dim inside the Expo this Friday and the green-and-white banners sway overhead, the Maine Celtics begin another journey. They do so not just as a minor-league affiliate, but as a premier modern sports franchise: a developer of world-class talent, a trusted Boston partner, and a proud, beating heart for the city of Portland.

“When we first started, it was all about affordability,” Eubanks said. “And that continues today. We don’t overcomplicate things here. It’s about basketball. It’s about accessibility. And it’s about the people around here and serving them something that is entertaining and of the highest quality. People around here are basketball purists — sports purists, for that matter. And we’re happy to have become a big part of their lives.”

Tickets are available for the Maine Celtics opening night game at the Portland Expo against the Westchester Knicks on Friday, Nov. 6. Tip off is at 7 p.m.