Before the Celtics raised their 18th championship banner, Joe Mazzulla paid his respects to those who helped bring the franchise its first 17.

Asked about Celtics greats who might be in the building for Tuesday night’s season opener at TD Garden, Boston’s head coach replied: “I think that’s the biggest thing.”

“We’ve been entrusted with the tradition of this organization by the players, by other staff, by the front office, and have a responsibility and an ownership to the city and to the people that came before us,” Mazzulla said. “This job isn’t what it is if the people before us didn’t put the time and the effort into making it what it was. Because of them, we’re able to kind of go after stuff and be a part of this.

“It’s a sense of gratitude. Not only to the city and to the people that came before us. I think that moment is cooler than anything else instead of just watching what you’re a part of. It’s something so much bigger than one year or two years. It’s a lifestyle. I think the quote that Red (Auerbach) said, ‘The Celtics are a way of life,’ is true. And that’s something I don’t take lightly.”

Mazzulla would know. The Johnston, R.I., native was exposed to the Celtics mystique at an early age. Now, the 36-year-old is entering his third season as the C’s head coach, armed with a loaded roster that’s nearly identical to the one that steamrolled its way to the title last season.

“(I) love coming on Storrow (Drive) and just being grateful for the opportunity that I have to coach this team, to work with the guys and the staff and the players and the organization and you get to work for the Celtics,” Mazzulla said, reflecting on his drive to the arena ahead of Tuesday’s opener against the New York Knicks. “It’s the best city. It’s the best team. There’s no question about it. What’s better than that?”

These Celtics are trying to accomplish something that hasn’t been done by a Boston team since Auerbach was the general manager and Bill Russell was the player-coach: win back-to-back championships. The Celtics’ last successful title defense was in 1969.

Repeating has become increasingly difficult in the modern NBA, as each of the last five title-winners failed to even reach the conference finals the following season. The last team to win two straight championships was the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors.

“The goal is to do it every single year,” Mazzulla said. “That’s just the goal. But it’s focusing on the process of what goes into that. There’s a lot of decisions you have to make on a daily basis about how you’re going to compete at the highest level, and as long as you look at it from a process-oriented approach, I think it puts you in a position to go after that.”