On 17 June 2024, the Boston Celtics claimed their 18th NBA championship, ending a 16-year title drought. The team had not won a championship since 2008. The 106-88 victory made the team the all-time winningest franchise, surpassing a long-standing tie with the Los Angeles Lakers (17 championships).
The consensus is the team won because it played as a team. While Jaylen Brown received the MVP trophy, it was the concerted effort of all under 35-year old coach Joe Mazulla (previously an assistant coach with no NBA head coaching experience) that led the team all the time, resulting in a victory in the finals against the Dallas Mavericks, a team that relied heavily on Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
NBA reported: “But this entire team offered so much more. Smartly assembled by front office boss Brad Stevens, the Celtics had star power and also depth, which made them tough at both ends and able to win even with relatively mild production from Tatum and Brown.”
The Celtics clinched the championship Monday in a manner that defined the essence of this team — lots of Tatum and Brown, who combined for 52 points, 16 rebounds and 17 assists.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum was reduced to tears as he said time after time, “We did it!” He teamed with Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, even Payton Pritchard.
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18 June 2024