Payton Pritchard’s three-pointer from his own court will be immortalized in Celtics legend. That basket at the buzzer on the brink of halftime, the furthest in the history of the NBA Finals, sealed the title. The match continued until the final 106-88, but the final was decided. With their victory over the Dallas Mavericks, the Boston team reached the sky with their 18th championship. That places them as the most successful team in the NBA, ahead of the Lakers, the eternal rivals, who have 17. A green tide celebrated the reconquest of glory in the streets of Boston, the city in the United States where basketball is lives with greater passion, and wants to open a new era of titles.
“I hate that the Celtics now officially have more championships than us,” Lakers legend Magic Johnson tweeted after the game. The rivalry between the Celtics of Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale and the Lakers of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar marked basketball in the 1980s—before the advent of Michael Jordan in the 1990s. But while the Lakers had won six titles since 2000, the Celtics had only enjoyed one of the Big Three (Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen) in 2008, breaking a drought that had lasted since 1986, when Larry Bird won his third ring.
Most of Boston’s team titles are in black and white, from when there was no internet or social media and people smoked in the old Boston Garden. That pavilion, on whose site there is now a skyscraper, was demolished in 1998, when the modern TD Garden was completed, right next door. In the new venue, the Celtics had only celebrated that 2008 championship, won another June 17, against the Lakers of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
The duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the leaders of the championship team, thus connect with Larry Bird, Kevin Garnett and Celtics legends, such as Bill Russell. The Jay They are two natural basketball talents, but they have had to overcome criticism, disappointments and failures.
“I think we have learned from all our mistakes. All our adversities have made us stronger, tougher,” declared Jaylen Brown, chosen as the best player in the finals, at the end of the game. “All the moments where we fell short, where we let the city down and ourselves, all of that put together is what has led us to this moment. And it makes us feel so much better that we had to go through the whole journey, the heartbreak, the shame, the loss, to get to the top of the mountain,” he added.
Release
The title is a liberation for the Celtics, but above all for that couple who were said to not be able to play together, that they did not have the character to win a title. The Celtics paid for inexperience in the 2022 NBA final against the Golden State Warriors of a Stephen Curry in a state of grace. Last year, one step away from a historic comeback in the Eastern Conference final against the Miami Heat, Tatum was injured in the seventh and final game and Brown did not measure up. Both conspired to improve and return to the top.
The backbone of the championship team is the same as two years ago, but with two new key pieces: Jrue Holiday, who has strengthened the defense and was already a champion with the Bucks, and the Latvian center Kristaps Porziņģis, who provides power under the hoops and versatility in attack. Joe Mazzulla has built a solid block in attack and defense, taking care of the transitions, as he says he learned from Guardiola’s Manchester City. At 35 years old, he has won over the locker room (center Al Horford, another of the team’s references, is 38). He is the youngest coach to be crowned since the legendary Bill Russell in 1969, when he was a player-coach. The Celtics have been the best in the regular season and in the playoffs, until the 4-1 finals against Luka Dončić’s Mavericks.
The last NBA dynasty was that of the Warriors, with six finals and four titles in eight years, between 2015 and 2022. In the last six seasons, the NBA has had six different champions. The question now is whether the title will usher in an era of glory for the Celtics. They put it to Brown on Monday: “I think we have a chance. We take it day by day. We definitely have to make sure we stay healthy. But we will enjoy the summer, the moment, and we will return to it next year,” he replied.
That opportunity lies in maintaining harmony between Tatum and Brown. Tatum has been chosen as part of the NBA’s ideal quintet, but Brown has won the award for best in the finals. Even Mavericks coach Jason Kidd seemed to try to sow discord among rivals by proclaiming in the midst of matchups that, in his opinion, Brown was the Celtics’ most valuable player.
Companions in misdeeds
Tatum has enjoyed the title like a child. Those attempts to divide the couple have not worked. They were aware that only together could they enter the history of the Celtics. After receiving the individual award, Brown immediately proclaimed: “I share this with my brothers and my partner in crime, Jayson Tatum. He was with me the whole way, so we shared this together,” she said before merging with him in a hug. Tatum thanked him later: “Our main goal was to win a championship. We didn’t care who won the Finals MVP. I know I need him on this journey and he needs me. It was great to see him have that moment and share it with him. I’m very happy for him. Well deserved. He has earned it,” he said in the post-match press conference.
Mazzulla has been key to managing the good atmosphere of the squad. On Monday, as the game neared its end, he replaced the team’s figures one by one so that they would receive the tribute of a totally dedicated TD Garden. The fans chanted MVP for both Brown and Tatum, although only one could win the award.
Of the entire Celtics squad, the only one who repeated the ring was Jrue Holiday, who already won the title with the Milwaukee Bucks. His signing, a chance for Damian Lillard to arrive in Milwaukee, has turned out to be a great success. Despite the All-Star tinsel, he is above all a team player: supportive, self-sacrificing and effective. He does not abuse the shots, but he has had a success percentage in field goals of more than 50% and more than 40% in triples, something that none of the other regulars has achieved. In addition, he is a defensive reference, whose latest victim has been Kyrie Irving, the Celtics’ public enemy number one. In all of this, Derrick White is similar to him, who has made the leap to starting the team as a reliable player who cannot be discouraged. The Celtics are negotiating an extension of his contract to keep the starting five as long as possible.
The other signing of the year was Latvian center Kristaps Porziņģis. At 2.18 meters he has provided hierarchy under the rim and versatility in attack, as he is a good three-point shooter. His weak point has always been injuries. The Celtics have had just as good results with him out thanks to veteran Al Horford, who remains in incredible shape for his 38 years. If Porziņģis continues to go through the infirmary and Horford begins his decline, the Celtics may have a problem.
Budget restrictions and penalties make it difficult to maintain a team like the Celtics for long, but all of Boston’s key pieces are under contract for next season, in which they are already listed as betting favorites. Repeating the title, it has been shown, is not an easy thing in these times of maximum equality in the NBA. The Celtics will have a more difficult path than this year in the East, where successive injuries to Jimmy Butler, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell and Tyrese Haliburton paved their way. And, if they repeat the NBA finals, it may be against a rival from the East who cannot be measured as easily as Dallas. Even so, after the first ring in 16 years, the Celtics now have the challenge of winning two consecutive titles, something they have not achieved since 1969. Not even Larry Bird achieved it. Tatum and Brown, the partners in crime, are willing to try.
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