A strong, determined duo led Boston Celtics to its 18th NBA Championship
The Boston Celtics won against the Dallas Mavericks in the TD Garden last week to bag its 18th NBA championship. It was clear based on how the Celtics played that the championship was a team effort.
Coach Joe Mazzulla always reinforced the concept of team. The nucleus of that team though was the tandem of the Finals MVP Jaylen Brown and the game’s top scorer Jayson Tatum.
“We did it together, and that was the only way that we could do it was together,” player Jrue Holiday said. “I hope that when people watch us play, they see the joy that we play with, that we love playing together, and we got it done together. I feel like that’s the most important thing.”
Brown made 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Tatum contributed 31 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and two steals. Holiday had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Al Horford had nine points and nine rebounds. Hauser made two big three-pointers. Peyton Pritchard hit a three-point buzzer beater as a quarter ended, for the second time in the finals.
The Celtics reached the NBA Finals in 2022 and the Eastern Conference finals in 2023, 2022, 2020, 2018 and 2017. While the duo of Tatum and Brown have been working together for seven years, the recent mix of players provided the right combination to win the title.
“We’ve been through a lot,” Brown said. “We’ve been playing together for seven years now. We’ve been through a lot, the losses, the expectations. The media have said all different types of things: We can’t play together, we are never going to win.”
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The announcer during the awarding said that Tatum and Brown have played 107 playoff games together since they joined the team. That partnership is considered the longest before it resulted in a championship. Many even doubted they ever would, seeking the separation of the two.
All the criticism went under the bridge last June 17, when the team got the coveted trophy and Brown the MVP award. It was recently reported that as far as the Finals MVP is concerned Brown received seven of the 11 votes. Tatum received four.
Joe Mazzulla, coach of the Celtics, also made history, as the youngest person to coach a title-winning NBA team since 1970. He is 35 years old. Bill Russell, who acted in a dual role as player and coach for the Celtics when they won in 1968, is still the youngest in record since he was 34 at that time. Russell, one of the greatest basketball players ever, was the main driver of the Celts’ 11-year winning streak during his stint of 13 years (1956 to 1969).
He is also the second black coach to win a title and the one who ended the 16-year title drought for the franchise. At 18 championships, Boston Celtics has the most title wins in the NBA. A devout Catholic, the coach always glorifies God for their wins. His strong faith is one shared by his leading players.
Tatum is a Christian who always puts the spotlight on God for his skills, talents and the platform he has all throughout his career. His favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
“Our faith is the most important thing, and we have the best fans in the world,” Mazzulla said during the awards ceremony. “You get very few chances in life to be great, and you get very few chances in life to carry on the ownership and the responsibilities of what these banners are and all the great people and great players that came here. When you have few chances in life, you’ve just got to take the bull by the horns and you’ve got to just own it.”
In 2022, the Celtics lost to the Golden State Warriors in the Finals. It was a heartbreaking loss for them because that was their best performance since their last championship in 2008. In 2023, Mazzulla was promoted from assistant head coach to head coach in the aftermath of Ime Udoka’s exit. Mazzulla guided the team to the playoffs in 2023 and their back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals appearance. They just patiently built on that momentum to finish this year with the best win record of 64-18.
It was the first NBA championship for most players on the Celtics, including Brown, who won Finals MVP after averaging 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5 assists. The former Cal Berkeley star also won Eastern Conference Finals MVP during a dominant performance against Indiana. Though less efficient, Tatum put up 22.2 points per game along with 7.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists in the Finals against Dallas.
“I can’t put into words the emotions,” Brown said in an interview after the awarding. “I’m blessed. I’m grateful, this was a full team effort. My teammates were great, they allowed me to lead us on both ends of the ball, they came out and just performed on our home floor. It was amazing.”
“You know, it could have gone either way, it could have gone to Jayson,” he said. “I can’t talk enough about his selflessness. I can’t talk enough about his attitude. It’s just how he approaches, not just this series or the Finals, but just the playoffs in general and we did it together as a team. And that was the most important thing.”
“Well-deserved, extremely happy for him,” Tatum uttered about Brown getting the Finals MVP trophy. “This is a hell of an accomplishment. The main goal for us was to win a championship. We didn’t care who got the Finals MVP. I know that I need him and he needs me.”