NBA Finals: Boston Celtics are this Year’s NBA Champions
BOSTON, MA — Celtics top Mavericks in Game 5, win record 18th NBA championship! Jayson Tatum scored 31 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and made 11 assists, while Finals MVP Jaylen Brown contributed 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists as the Boston Celtics won the 2024 NBA Finals by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 106-88. This victory marked the Celtics' 18th NBA title, breaking the record on the 16th anniversary of their 17th championship win in the same arena. With this win, the Celtics surpassed their long-standing rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, to become the team with the most titles in NBA history. Jayson Tatum scored 31 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and made 11 assists, while Finals MVP Jaylen Brown contributed 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Brown earned his MVP award behind series averages of 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5 assists while consistently guarding Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.
"I can't even put into words the emotions," Brown said. "It's just I'm blessed, and I'm grateful. This was a full team effort. We had a great team. My teammates were great. They allowed me to lead us on both ends of ball, and we just came out and performed on our home floor. It's just amazing,” said Brown.
This year's Celtics team was constructed in such a way that it didn't matter who their best player was. At times, it was Tatum, at times, it was Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, or Derrick White. But for the majority of this series, it was Jaylen Brown. After years of hearing about how he wasn't as good as his co-star, or about how the Celtics should have traded him or shouldn't have paid him, he has silenced the doubters once and for all with an incredible postseason, culminating in a Finals MVP award.
photo credit: ESPN
This victory marked the Celtics' 18th NBA title, breaking the record on the 16th anniversary of their 17th championship win in the same arena. With this win, the Celtics surpassed their long-standing rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, to become the team with the most titles in NBA history. With the win, the Celtics finished the playoffs 16-3, which is the second-best record since the NBA changed the playoff format to four best-of-seven rounds in 2003. This victory marks a significant turnaround for the Celtics, who have faced playoff disappointments in recent years. Up until their win on Monday night, the Celtics had played the most postseason games over an eight-season period without winning a title in NBA history.
It was a special night for Boston, as they are no strangers to the finals, and finally, changing the narrative on their home turf was significant.
"I mean, this is going to be a night that I will remember for the rest of my life, from the game, the celebration, these moments," Tatum said. "Over the last couple years, we had some tough losses at home in the playoffs. We've lost the NBA championship at home in front of our fans. We had a chance to beat Miami in Game 6 a few years ago and lost that one.”
photo credit: ESPN
"So to have a big win -- the biggest win that you could have in front of your home crowd -- I felt like that was really important to go out there and do everything in my power to make sure we won this game tonight," said Tatum.
