This Celtics season, things are different. Jayson Tatum is out for the foreseeable future, and veterans from the championship run have moved on. We’re all seeing lineups we couldn’t have predicted last spring when we were watching another hopeful title run. And yet, as I sit writing this, the Celtics are 15-9 and have won their last five straight!
Semi-Hot Take: I believe they still have a shot to make some noise in the postseason.
That’s because Brad Stevens has built a franchise that can bend without breaking. And honestly, there’s a lesson in that for anyone figuring out their next financial move or navigating a career transition that wasn’t part of the original plan.
Relying on One Star Is a Risky Way to Live
We all get attached to our “Tatum.” In basketball, it’s the superstar who carries the load. In the markets, it’s the small handful of giant companies propping up an entire index. Right now, the S&P 500 is extremely overweight in the top seven tech stocks. If tech crashes, the entire team goes down with it because the index is so dependent on those few superstars.
That’s the perfect parallel to a roster built around a single point of failure. If that star slows down for whatever reason, an injury, a slump, or a season that just doesn’t go your way, the whole system feels it. We saw it with the Celtics last postseason. But strong teams and strong portfolios aren’t designed to live or die by one player.
The Celtics can survive and even thrive this season because they’re well-diversified and have done a great job of arranging their portfolio. They can patch together minutes, shift roles, and buy time until their #1 star returns. That’s diversification/resilience, and your financial life works the exact same way.
Opportunity Comes From Places You Don’t Expect
With every season, there are moments where someone you barely remembered from Summer League suddenly becomes a factor. This year, it’s Jordan Walsh finding real minutes and Luka Garza showing flashes nobody expected from a 19-year-old. Oh yeah, not to mention Jaylen Brown stepping up to be THAT GUY, silencing many pundits that said he could never lead a team.
The same is true in the market.
Just as the Celtics need more than Tatum, the S&P needs far more than Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft. Yet the index’s “role players,” massive, culturally iconic brands, barely register in its weighting. A few fun examples, pulled from SlickCharts:
- ExxonMobile — #16/500 (Representing 0.79% of the index)
- Disney — #53/500 ( 0.30%) is still a household name, but tiny compared to the top weights
- Lowe’s — #84/500 (0.22%)
- Starbucks — #105/500 (0.15%)
- Southwest Airlines — #395/500 (0.03%)
- Campbell Soup — #490/500, (roughly 0.01%)
Picture Jalen Brown (AKA ExxonMobile) paying dividends even when the top dog is down. The Payton Pritchards and Derrick Whites; incredibly important, often underappreciated, and essential when the stars go cold. If Tatum (big tech) has an off year, these are the players (stocks) that keep the team afloat. And that’s where the real lesson lies. Diversification matters more than ever. Not because it guarantees short-term wins, but because it gives you a long-term chance to stay competitive through every kind of season, no matter what the hand you’re dealt.
Career Transitions: Reset Years Are Leverage Years
Reset years can feel uncomfortable, but they make room for opportunities you didn’t even know were waiting on the bench. A pivot you were terrified to make may turn out to be the smartest move in a decade. Adversity isn’t enjoyable, but it has a way of shaking loose possibilities you weren’t actively searching for; financially, professionally, or personally. That’s why it’s worth taking a hard look at your roster. Are you overly reliant on one investment, one account, or one paycheck? Could you absorb a bad break without everything falling apart?
Sometimes the simplest question, “Am I in a reset, not a rebuild?” tells you everything about where you actually stand.
Your Personal Economy
Your life has star players, too. Maybe it’s your salary. Maybe it’s a business that’s been consistent for years. Maybe it’s the identity you’ve built around a job or career path that suddenly isn’t as reliable as it once was. And if you’re between jobs or facing a slowdown, your star player isn’t putting up 34 a night anymore. That can feel disorienting.
But this is exactly when the rest of your personal roster matters. Maybe your spouse or partner becomes the one dropping 28 a night for a little while. Maybe your emergency fund quietly steps in like Queta and keeps you rebounding off the glass. Maybe a small consulting gig, rental income, or side project, something you thought of as a “role player” starts contributing real minutes.
A deep NBA team carries you through an 82-game season. A diversified personal economy carries you through the long, unpredictable seasons of a career and family life. Reset years aren’t failures. They’re where you discover who else on your roster can score.
Career Transitions: Navigating Does Not = Destined to Be Lost
The Celtics are navigating this unexpected season, but so far it’s not a calamity by any definition, and new opportunities have emerged. Your financial life works the same way. You don’t need a rebuild; you need a recalibration, and your plan doesn’t live or die by one star performer.
If you’re switching jobs/shifting industries and trying to understand what’s next, let’s talk about how to navigate your reset comfortably.
As a family financial planner, I’ve helped hundreds of families navigate unfamiliar times and stay on track toward their long-term goals.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.
All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.
