2024 NBA Finals TeamCoachWins Boston Celtics Joe Mazzulla 4 Dallas Mericks Jason Kidd 1 DatesJune 6–17MVPJaylen Brown (Boston Celtics)Hall of FamersCoaches:Jason Kidd (2018, player)Eastern finalsCeltics defeated Pacers, 4–0Western finalsMericks defeated Timberwolves, 4–1 ← 2023 NBA Finals 2025 →
The 2024 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2023–24 season and conclusion to the season's playoffs. In the best-of-seven playoffs series, the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeated the Western Conference champion Dallas Mericks four games to one, winning their first championship since 2008 and 18th overall, giving the Celtics the most NBA championships of any franchise. The Celtics' Jaylen Brown was voted the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (FMVP), after eraging 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. For his performances and plays in the series, Brown received seven out of the 11 votes for FMVP; the rest went to his teammate Jayson Tatum.[1]
The Celtics were seen as forites for winning the championship, finishing with a 64–18 record, the best across the league, and quickly dispatching their opponents during their playoff run.[2] Meanwhile, the Mericks only became a Finals contender midway through the season after a series of roster changes, finishing as the fifth seed in their conference.[3] The series started on June 6 and concluded on June 17.[4] The Celtics won the first two games at home. In Dallas, the Celtics were initially on their way to a dominant Game 3 victory, but the Mericks went on a run in the fourth quarter to jeopardize it. The Celtics nonetheless pulled through, winning the game and putting them up 3–0 in the series. The next game, the Mericks responded with one of the largest blowout victories in NBA Finals history, but the Celtics made easy work of Dallas upon their return to Boston, winning Game 5 and claiming the championship.
After the defending champion Denver Nuggets were bested by the Minnesota Timberwolves (who were later defeated by the Mericks) in the second round of the playoffs, it guaranteed that there would be a sixth unique champion team in a row, the longest such parity streak in NBA Finals history since 1975–1980.[5] The streak continued with the Celtics being eliminated in the second round of the 2025 playoffs.[6]
Background[edit] General[edit]This was the first playoff meeting between the Celtics and the Mericks, as well as all teams from the Greater Boston and Dallas–Fort Worth areas in any of the four major North American sports leagues.[7] It was also the third Finals appearance for the Celtics where they played a team from Texas, as they previously did so defeating the Houston Rockets in the 1981 and 1986 Finals. The 1986 victory was the second-most-recent championship for Boston entering the 2024 Finals.[8] Boston won both their meetings against Dallas in the regular season,[9] and were 14 games better than the Mericks by record.[10]
The Mericks were the fifth team in NBA history to reach the Finals and to not hold home-court advantage in any round, the last team to do so being the eighth-seeded Miami Heat in 2023. Out of those five, only one, the Rockets in 1995, won the championship.[11] If the Mericks were to he won, they would he become the 11th NBA team to win multiple championship titles.[12]
Boston Celtics[edit] Main article: 2023–24 Boston Celtics season Head coach Joe Mazzulla led the Celtics to the Finals, becoming the youngest ever to do so.After losing the 2022 NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics were defeated in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals in seven games after mounting a failed 3–0 comeback attempt.[13] During the off-season, the Celtics were involved in a trade which sent out longtime guard Marcus Smart in exchange for Kristaps Porziņģis.[14] They also acquired defensive guard Jrue Holiday while trading away Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon and two first-round draft picks.[4] The retooled roster was once again led by the 'Jays',[15] the longtime duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, with support from the two-way backcourt of Holiday and Derrick White and rotating centers Porziņģis and Al Horford.[2] With an offense prioritizing three-point-shooting and a versatile roster of defenders,[16] the Celtics dominated throughout the season, winning all of their first 20 games at home,[17] permanently occupying the first seed position of the Eastern Conference since mid-November,[18] and finishing with a league-best 64–18 record[2] and the highest Eastern Conference win percentage since the 2012–13 Miami Heat's.[19] Boston set numerous records during the season, such as hing the highest offensive rating in NBA history at 123.2,[4] tying the third-best net rating in NBA history at 11.6,[20] hing the widest margin of wins between the first and second seeds in the Eastern Conference since 1976 at 14 games, outscoring teams by an erage of 11.3 points per game, the fifth-widest margin in NBA history, and hing the highest points per possession (1.22) in league history.[17]
In the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics faced the Miami Heat in a rematch of the previous year's Eastern Conference Finals, and won the series 4–1.[2] They then faced the Cleveland Caliers in the second round, winning again in five games. Finally, after three hard-fought games and a blowout, they swept the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals.[2] Due to injuries to key players on all three opposing teams during their run through the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Celtics' path to the Finals was considered by media writers as one of the easiest in NBA history.[19] The Celtics had the best point differential in the playoffs at plus-10, the second-best points-per-game erage at 111.4, the first being the Pacers, and allowed the third-lowest points per game for their opponents with 101.3.[15] Even as starting center Porziņģis, who suffered a soleus strain in Game 4 of the first round, was sidelined for the next two rounds, the Celtics went 9–1 without him.[4]
This was the 23th appearance in the NBA Finals for the Celtics, and their second in three years.[21] Media commentators, analysts and the Celtics themselves[2] viewed the team as in a "championship or bust" scenario, their regular season and playoff achievements invalidated if they were not to win the Finals.[18][19] A Finals victory would give the Celtics their 18th championship, one more than the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in NBA history. Their last victory was in the 2008 NBA Finals.[21] Head coach Joe Mazzulla, who was appointed a season prior, became the youngest head coach to lead a team to the NBA Finals at 35 years old, tying him with Bill Russell, who had done so for the Celtics in 1969 as a player-coach.[20] Porziņģis met his former team, the Mericks, in the Finals, hing played for them from 2019 to 2022.[22]
Dallas Mericks[edit] Main article: 2023–24 Dallas Mericks season Former Merick Kristaps Porziņģis (left) and former Celtic Kyrie Irving (right) faced their previous teams in the Finals.Despite acquiring star guard Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline that season, the Dallas Mericks missed the 2023 NBA playoffs after finishing as the 11 seed in the Western Conference.[23] Over the off-season, the team reconfigured its roster to center around Irving and Luka Dončić, drafting Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper, and signing Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Dante Exum and Derrick Jones Jr.[24] Throughout the 2023–24 season, the backcourt duo of Irving and Dončić was praised by analysts as one of the greatest of all time offensively.[18][15][4] Dončić was the scoring leader of the season and finished third in voting for Most Valuable Player, while Irving underwent what was viewed as a renaissance season, eraging 25.6 points on near 50–40–90 shooting percentages.[25][26] Exum and Jones Jr. provided effective 3-and-D performance,[26] while Lively also played a pivotal role as a big man, making the All-Rookie second team and obtaining the highest field-goal percentage for a rookie season in NBA history at 74.7%.[26][27] However, Dallas nonetheless struggled through the first half of the season barely above the .500 mark.[24] Until the trade deadline in February, the team was 22nd in defensive rating, 12th in offense and 17th in net rating across the league. Irving and Dončić both missed significant amounts of games during that period due to injuries,[28] while injuries also affected other roster pieces as owner Mark Cuban sold his majority share of the franchise in December.[26][12]
At the trade deadline, the Mericks made more major changes to the roster, exchanging Williams and Curry for power forward P. J. Washington and acquiring center Daniel Gafford. The two players would further compliment the Irving–Dončić backcourt by significantly reinforcing the team's defense into a powerhouse. The trade has been regarded as the catalyst for the Mericks morphing into championship contenders by the next month. From March 7 onwards, the Mericks had the best defensive rating, the 12th-best offensive rating and the fifth-best net rating in the league, and went on 16–4 to end the season.[3] From February 1 onwards, Dallas had a 36–15 record: the second best in the league behind the Celtics.[11] They eventually finished as the fifth seed in the Western Conference with a 50–32 overall record.[24]
For the first round of the playoffs, the Mericks faced the Los Angeles Clippers, who had eliminated them in two first-round series in the five years prior. The Mericks won the series in six games.[29] In the second round they faced the first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. The Mericks overcame a 16-point halftime deficit in Game 6 to eliminate the Thunder, advancing to their second Western Conference Finals in three years.[30] After defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first three games of the Conference Finals with a combined total of 13 points, dropping Game 4, and winning Game 5 in a 21-point blowout,[15] the Mericks secured their first NBA Finals appearance in 13 years and their third in franchise history. In their last appearance in 2011, the team, which featured current head coach Jason Kidd as point guard, won their first and only title.[12] Like Porziņģis, Irving faced off against his former team, the Celtics, who he played with until 2019 and faced vitriol from its fan base since then. Irving was a combined 0–10 against the Celtics since leing Boston in free agency.[15]
Road to the Finals[edit] Further information: 2023–24 NBA season and 2024 NBA playoffs Eastern Conference#TeamWLPCTGBGP1z – Boston Celtics *6418.780–822x – New York Knicks5032.61014.0823y – Milwaukee Bucks *4933.59815.0824x – Cleveland Caliers4834.58516.0825y – Orlando Magic *4735.57317.0826x – Indiana Pacers4735.57317.0827x – Philadelphia 76ers4735.57317.0828x – Miami Heat4636.56118.0829pi – Chicago Bulls3943.47625.08210pi – Atlanta Hawks3646.43928.08211Brooklyn Nets3250.39032.08212Toronto Raptors2557.30539.08213Charlotte Hornets2161.25643.08214Washington Wizards1567.18349.08215Detroit Pistons1468.17150.082 Western Conference#TeamWLPCTGBGP1c – Oklahoma City Thunder *5725.695–822x – Denver Nuggets5725.695–823x – Minnesota Timberwolves5626.6831.0824y – Los Angeles Clippers *5131.6226.0825y – Dallas Mericks *5032.6107.0826x – Phoenix Suns4933.5988.0827x – New Orleans Pelicans4933.5988.0828x – Los Angeles Lakers4735.57310.0829pi – Sacramento Kings4636.56111.08210pi – Golden State Warriors4636.56111.08211Houston Rockets4141.50016.08212Utah Jazz3151.37826.08213Memphis Grizzlies2755.32930.08214San Antonio Spurs2260.26835.08215Portland Trail Blazers2161.25636.082
Notes
z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs y – Clinched division title x – Clinched playoff spot pi – Clinched play-in tournament spot * – Division leader Playoff results Boston Celtics (Eastern Conference champion) Dallas Mericks (Western Conference champion) Defeated the 8th seeded Miami Heat, 4–1 First round Defeated the 4th seeded Los Angeles Clippers, 4–2 Defeated the 4th seeded Cleveland Caliers, 4–1 Conference semifinals Defeated the 1st seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, 4–2 Defeated the 6th seeded Indiana Pacers, 4–0 Conference finals Defeated the 3rd seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, 4–1 Regular season series[edit]The Celtics won the regular season series 2–0.
January 22, 2024 Recap Boston Celtics 119, Dallas Mericks 110 American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX March 1, 2024 Recap Dallas Mericks 110, Boston Celtics 138 TD Garden, Boston, MA Series summary[edit] Game Date Road team Result Home team Game 1 June 6 Dallas Mericks 89–107 (0–1) Boston Celtics Game 2 June 9 Dallas Mericks 98–105 (0–2) Boston Celtics Game 3 June 12 Boston Celtics 106–99 (3–0) Dallas Mericks Game 4 June 14 Boston Celtics 84–122 (3–1) Dallas Mericks Game 5 June 17 Dallas Mericks 88–106 (1–4) Boston Celtics Game summaries[edit] Note: Times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by the NBA and locally in Boston. For games in Dallas, the local time is also given (CDT, UTC−5). Game 1[edit] ABC June 6 8:30 pm Recap Dallas Mericks 89, Boston Celtics 107 Scoring by quarter: 20–37, 22–26, 24–23, 23–21 Pts: Luka Dončić 30Rebs: Luka Dončić 10Asts: Kyrie Irving 2 Pts: Jaylen Brown 22Rebs: Jayson Tatum 11Asts: Holiday, Tatum, White 5 eachBoston leads series, 1–0 TD Garden, Boston, MassachusettsAttendance: 19,156Referees: No. 15 Zach Zarba No. 58 Josh Tiven No. 61 Courtney Kirkland Kristaps Porziņģis returned from a month-long injury to score 20 points for the Celtics, 18 of which came in the first half.Boston's Kristaps Porziņģis returned from injury after not playing in a game for 38 days and recorded 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks off the bench to help the Celtics achieve a 107–89 victory over the Mericks.[31] He became the fourth player to score 20 or more points off the bench in their first NBA Finals appearance.[32] Jaylen Brown was the highest scorer for the Celtics, recording 22 points,[33] while Jayson Tatum tatum had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Derrick White had 15 points.[31] Luka Dončić lead the Mericks with 30 points and 10 rebounds, but went 4 of 12 in three-point attempts.[34] P. J. Washington was the next highest Mericks scorer with 14 points, while Kyrie Irving, who received boos from the crowd whenever he touched the ball,[31] was limited to just 12 points on 6-of-19 overall shooting.[35]
Entering roughly five minutes into the first quarter[36] off the bench for only the second time in his career, Porziņģis made eight points before forcing Dallas to call an early timeout. He then scored a three-pointer as the Celtics went on a run to end the quarter at 37–20, the largest first quarter point differential in a Game 1 in NBA Finals history.[34] The Celtics continued their momentum into the second quarter, going on a 21–11 run[34] and leading by as much as 29 points before Dončić went on a solo run to end the half at 63–42. Dončić left the half with 17 points, but no other Mericks player scored more than six.[35]
In the third quarter, Dončić opened with 10 points early on[37] as the Mericks went on a 35–14 run[31] to cut the Celtics lead to eight with 4:27 left in the quarter. After Joe Mazzulla called a timeout, the Celtics went on a 14-point unanswered run to effectively secure their victory by the end of the quarter.[38] The Mericks were crippled offensively, shooting 25.9% from the three-point-line, suffering 11 turnovers and recording only five assists across the first three quarters, the fewest for any NBA team in the last three seasons.[36][31] Boston meanwhile became the first team to he seven players make multiple three-pointers in a Finals game.[34]
A moment of silence was held before the game in memory of Bill Walton, the two-time NBA champion—including in 1986 with the Celtics as their sixth man—and broadcaster, who died on May 27 of colorectal cancer at the age of 71. Walton's family was in attendance, and the Celtics players wore black shooting shirts bearing Walton's name with a tie-dye background while their jerseys had a black band with his name on the shoulder. Celtics team staff wore pins with a similar Walton tie-dye.[39]
Game 2[edit] ABC June 9 8:00 pm Recap Dallas Mericks 98, Boston Celtics 105 Scoring by quarter: 28–25, 23–29, 23–29, 24–22 Pts: Luka Dončić 32Rebs: Luka Dončić 11Asts: Luka Dončić 11 Pts: Jrue Holiday 26Rebs: Jrue Holiday 11Asts: Jayson Tatum 12Boston leads series, 2–0 TD Garden, Boston, MassachusettsAttendance: 19,156Referees: No. 25 Tony Brothers No. 10 John Goble No. 55 Bill Kennedy Veteran guard and first-year Celtic Jrue Holiday led the team in points, with 26, and rebounds, with 11.Jrue Holiday led the Celtics with 26 points and 11 rebounds as Boston hung on for a 105–98 win to take a 2–0 lead in the series. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White scored 21 and 18 points, respectively, with three steals each, while Jayson Tatum had 18 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists.[40] Luka Dončić, who was listed as questionable prior to the game, notched 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, becoming the first Merick to record a triple-double in the Finals and one of four NBA players to record one with 30-plus points in a loss.[40][41] Kyrie Irving had 16 points and six assists, but his poor shooting was underscored by his three-point drought, as he was still yet to make one in the series.[42]
The Mericks were ahead throughout the entire first quarter and finished with a three-point lead, but the Celtics pulled away with an equal lead by halftime.[40][43] Dallas was hobbled by missing free throws,[43] while the Celtics struggled equally through poor three-point shooting, missing their first eight behind-the-arc shots and going 10 of 39 across the entire game.[44] The Celtics kept their lead secure during the third quarter, capping it off with a buzzer beater by Payton Pritchard from near half-court to extend the margin to nine by the fourth.[45]
During the fourth quarter, the Celtics initially pushed their lead further to 14 points,[43] but the Mericks in return went on a 9–0 run, capped off by Dončić recording a three-point play, to cut the lead down to five with 1:15 minutes left.[40] Boston's troubles were further compounded by Porziņģis irritating his previous leg injury before he was taken out.[45] Off a fast break produced by Derrick Jones Jr.'s block on Tatum, P. J. Washington had a chance to cut the lead down further before White blocked his attempted dunk, allowing Brown to produce a layup on the other end of the court.[40] Dončić threw up a difficult three-pointer with 28 seconds left but failed to make it, sealing a Celtics victory. He attributed his team's loss to his missed free throws and turnovers, of which he had eight, five occurring in the second half.[44]
Game 3[edit] ABC June 12 8:30 pm (7:30 pm CDT) Recap Boston Celtics 106, Dallas Mericks 99 Scoring by quarter: 30–31, 20–20, 35–19, 21–29 Pts: Jayson Tatum 31Rebs: Jaylen Brown 8Asts: Jaylen Brown 8 Pts: Kyrie Irving 35Rebs: Dereck Lively II 13Asts: Luka Dončić 6Boston leads series, 3–0 American Airlines Center, Dallas, TexasAttendance: 20,311Referees: No. 8 Marc Dis No. 19 James Capers No. 24 Kevin Scott Jayson Tatum's 31 points helped ste off a late Mericks comeback attempt in order to secure a 3–0 series lead for the Celtics.Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 31 and 30 points to oid a late-game collapse and put the Celtics up 3–0 in the series.[46] It was the second time in franchise history that two players each scored 30-plus points in a Finals game.[47] Tatum logged six rebounds and five assists while Brown had eight rebounds and eight assists,[48] with the victory extending Boston's playoff winning-streak to 10 and its road-game winning-streak to seven. The only other Celtic to score in double-figures was Derrick White, who had 16 points.[49] Kyrie Irving bounced back with a game-high 35 points, while Luka Dončić had 27 points, six rebounds and six assists.[50] Coming into the game, the Celtics were without the ailability of the injured Kristaps Porziņģis,[49] who was replaced by Al Horford and occasionally Xier Tillman at the center position. The Mericks, specifically Irving and Dončić, took advantage of the lack of size for Boston to attack the rim,[51] outscoring Boston 52–36 from the area during the game.[52]
The Mericks came out hot, scoring nine points to force a timeout from the Celtics early on.[51] The Mericks heily utilized the paint[52] to outscore the Celtics 22–9 by the midpoint of the quarter; their largest lead in the series by that point. The Celtics bounced back with a 21–9 run instigated through plays by Brown and Tatum.[46][51] The second quarter was defense-oriented at first, with the Celtics leading the scoring 5–2 at the halfway mark before Irving and Tatum began responding to each other's three-pointers,[46] ending the half at a near tie.[48] The Celtics dominated the third quarter, converting on seven of their first possessions to establish an imposing lead as Brown scored half of his points in the game during the timeframe.[51] After Dončić made a layup to bring the lead down to six with 5:11 minutes remaining, the Celtics went on a 7–0 run to end the quarter with a 15-point lead, outscoring the Mericks 35–19 in total.[50]
Up until the final quarter, the Mericks, excluding Irving and Dončić, combined for only 19 points.[53] The Celtics initially continued their barrage into the fourth quarter, capitalized by a three-pointer from White a minute in to extend the lead to 21 points.[50] However, the Mericks proceeded to go on a 22–2 run, with contributions from P. J. Washington and Dereck Lively II,[52] cutting the lead down to 93–90 for three consecutive minutes, but during that time Dončić critically fouled out with 4:12 remaining.[46] Lively later flushed a dunk to put the Celtics lead at 100–98 until Brown hit a mid-range jump shot with 1:01 left.[50] From there, Washington, Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr. each missed their three-point attempts as a foul on Tatum with 14.6 seconds left allowed him to make free throws to secure the game and oid what could he potentially tied the largest comeback from a fourth-quarter deficit in NBA history.[49]
As was done for Bill Walton prior to Game 1, a moment of silence was held before the game for Jerry West, who died earlier that same day at the age of 86. West's silhouette was the basis for the NBA logo, and he was an NBA champion as a player in 1972 with the Los Angeles Lakers and also a further eight times as an executive with the Lakers and Golden State Warriors.[54][55]
Game 4[edit] ABC June 14 8:30 pm (7:30 pm CDT) Recap Boston Celtics 84, Dallas Mericks 122 Scoring by quarter: 21–34, 14–27, 25–31, 24–30 Pts: Jayson Tatum 15Rebs: Jayson Tatum 5Asts: Al Horford 4 Pts: Luka Dončić 29Rebs: Dereck Lively II 12Asts: Kyrie Irving 6Boston leads series, 3–1 American Airlines Center, Dallas, TexasAttendance: 20,277Referees: No. 48 Scott Foster No. 16 Did Guthrie No. 60 James Williams A blowout Mericks victory spearheaded by Luka Dončić's 29 points prevented a series sweep by the Celtics.The Mericks oided a sweep by the Celtics with a 122–84 blowout victory; the third largest in NBA Finals history, behind the Chicago Bulls' 42-point win against the Utah Jazz in 1998 and the Celtics' 39-point win against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008, to cut Boston's series lead to 3–1.[56] Luka Dončić led Dallas with 29 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. He scored 25 of his total points in the first two quarters, the most ever recorded by a Merick in a Finals game at half.[57] Kyrie Irving had 21 points and six assists,[58] and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 15 points off five three-pointers in the fourth quarter, joining Ray Allen and Stephen Curry as the only player to score five threes in a single quarter of a Finals game.[59] Derrick Lively II had 11 points and 12 rebounds, becoming the second player to achieve multiple double-doubles in the Finals at 20 years old, the only other being Magic Johnson.[60]
Midway through the first quarter, Lively scored his first career three-pointer which ge the Mericks the lead for the rest of the game.[56] The Mericks established a 13-point lead by the end of the first,[61] and a 26-point lead by the half:[56] the fourth largest in Finals history.[60] At half, the only Celtics players who made more than one field goal were Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.[58] The Mericks continued their momentum into the third quarter, outscoring the Celtics by 15–7 points in the first 4:32 minutes. With 3:18 left and the deficit at 36 points, Joe Mazzulla ceded defeat by emptying his bench, which was soon followed by Dallas' Jason Kidd doing the same.[60]
The loss was described as the worst in the Celtics' entire season, and their worst overall since the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals.[58][62] It ended a 10-game postseason winning streak and seven-game road streak, and oided the chance of them becoming the first team in NBA history to sweep both the Conference Finals and the Finals.[56] The 84 points they scored was the lowest tally of the entire season,[60] while the game-high 48 points the Mericks led by was their largest deficit. The 35 points they scored by half was their lowest in two seasons, and the second lowest in a Finals game in franchise history. Tatum and Brown finished with 15 and 10 points, respectively.[56]
Game 5[edit] ABC June 17 8:30 pm Recap Dallas Mericks 88, Boston Celtics 106 Scoring by quarter: 18–28, 28–39, 21–19, 21–20 Pts: Luka Dončić 28Rebs: Luka Dončić 12Asts: Kyrie Irving 9 Pts: Jayson Tatum 31Rebs: Jrue Holiday 11Asts: Jayson Tatum 11Boston wins NBA Finals, 4–1 TD Garden, Boston, MassachusettsAttendance: 19,156Referees: No. 15 Zach Zarba No. 10 John Goble No. 55 Bill Kennedy Jaylen Brown was awarded Finals MVP after eraging 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5 assists per game in the series.The Celtics closed out the series in a dominant 106–88 victory at home to claim the NBA championship. The 'Jays' served as the main heads of the victory, Jayson Tatum scoring a game-high 31 points with eight rebounds and 11 assists, and Jaylen Brown following with 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists.[63] With the conclusion of the series, Brown was voted the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP), after eraging 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5 assists.[1] Brown edged out Tatum who eraged 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game for the series.[64]
Jrue Holiday, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds,[63] scored the first three buckets of the game for the Celtics.[65] After missing Games 3 and 4 with significant leg injuries which would require surgery, Kristaps Porziņģis checked into the game midway through the first quarter to fanfare. He finished with five points in 16 minutes.[66] The Mericks managed to cut the lead to a one-point game midway through the quarter, but the Celtics responded with a 12–3 run, powered by eight points from Tatum and Brown, to end it. Dallas once again attempted a comeback in the second quarter by bringing a 15-point lead down to nine, but Boston proceeded to outscore them 19–7.[63] The Celtics finished the first half of the game with a 21-point lead, which culminated with Payton Pritchard's buzzer-beating half-court throw, which was the longest shot made in the NBA Finals in the past 25 years, since at least 1998.[67][68] The Mericks never recovered or led at any point during the game, with the Celtics extending their lead to as much as 26 points in the third quarter.[68] The fourth quarter was dubbed a "coronation" for the Celtics.[65]
It was a full team effort and I share this with my brothers and my partner in crime Jayson Tatum. He was with me the whole way, so we share this shit together.
Jaylen Brown, upon receiving the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award[69]In the losing effort, Luka Dončić recorded 28 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Dončić went 2 of 9 in three-pointers during the game, missing all of his first six. He was further noted for his poor defensive performance and his seven turnovers.[65][70] Similar to Games 1 and 2, Kyrie Irving struggled with a 5-for-16 shooting night, finishing the game with 15 points. With their two stars coming up short early on, the Mericks had no response, going 11 of 37 (29.7%) from three-point range altogether.[68] The Celtics notably had a significant edge on the glass with a 51–35 rebounding advantage, and went 17 of 20 (85%) from the free throw line compared to the Mericks' 7 of 13 (53.8%).[65]
Rosters[edit] 2023–24 Boston Celtics roster Players Coaches Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 12 Oshae Brissett 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1998-06-20 Syracuse G/F 7 Jaylen Brown 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 223 lb (101 kg) 1996-10-24 California G 20 JD Dison (TW) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-10-03 Alabama F 30 Sam Hauser 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 217 lb (98 kg) 1997-12-08 Virginia G 4 Jrue Holiday 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1990-06-12 UCLA F/C 42 Al Horford 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1986-06-03 Florida C 40 Luke Kornet 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1995-07-15 Vanderbilt G/F 50 Sviatosl Mykhailiuk 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1997-06-10 Kansas F 13 Drew Peterson (TW) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1999-11-09 USC F/C 8 Kristaps Porziņģis 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1995-08-02 Latvia G 11 Payton Pritchard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-01-28 Oregon C 88 Neemias Queta 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 248 lb (112 kg) 1999-07-13 Utah State G 44 Jaden Springer 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 2002-09-25 Tennessee F 0 Jayson Tatum 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1998-03-03 Duke F/C 26 Xier Tillman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1999-01-12 Michigan State G/F 27 Jordan Walsh 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2004-03-03 Arkansas G 9 Derrick White 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1994-07-02 Colorado Head coach Joe Mazzulla Assistant(s) Sam Cassell Anthony Dobbins Amile Jefferson Charles Lee D. J. MacLeay Matt Reynolds Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick(FA) Free agent(S) Suspended(GL) On assignment to G League affiliate(TW) Two-way affiliate player InjuredRoster Updated: April 16, 2024
2023–24 Dallas Mericks roster Players Coaches Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 13 Greg Brown III (TW) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 2001-09-01 Texas G/F 77 Luka Dončić 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1999-02-28 Slovenia G 0 Dante Exum 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1995-07-13 Australia F 3 Alex Fudge (TW) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2003-06-05 Florida F/C 21 Daniel Gafford 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 234 lb (106 kg) 1998-10-01 Arkansas G/F 8 Josh Green 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2000-11-16 Arizona G/F 10 Tim Jr. Hardaway 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1992-03-16 Michigan G 1 Jaden Hardy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 2002-07-05 Coronado HS (NV) G 11 Kyrie Irving 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1992-03-23 Duke F 55 Derrick Jr. Jones 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1997-02-15 UNLV F 42 Maxi Kleber 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1992-01-29 Germany G 9 A. J. Lawson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 2000-07-15 South Carolina C 2 Dereck II Lively 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 2004-02-12 Duke F 88 Markieff Morris 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1989-09-02 Kansas F/C 7 Dwight Powell 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1991-07-20 Stanford F 18 Olivier-Maxence Prosper 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 2002-07-03 Marquette F 25 P. J. Washington 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1998-08-23 Kentucky G 00 Brandon Williams (TW) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-11-22 Arizona Head coach Jason Kidd Assistant(s) Darrell Armstrong Josh Broghamer Jared Dudley Eric Hughes Alex Jensen Marko Milič God Shammgod Sean Sweeney Keith Veney Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick(FA) Free agent(S) Suspended(GL) On assignment to G League affiliate(TW) Two-way affiliate player InjuredRoster Updated: March 31, 2024
Player statistics[edit] Legend GP Games played GS Games started MPG Minutes per game FG% Field-goal percentage 3P% 3-point field-goal percentage FT% Free-throw percentage RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per game Dallas Mericks statistics Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Luka Dončić 5 5 38.8 .472 .244 .586 8.8 5.6 2.6 0.0 29.2 Kyrie Irving 5 5 39.0 .414 .276 1.000 3.0 5.0 0.6 0.0 19.8 P. J. Washington 5 5 32.6 .409 .273 .750 6.2 1.4 0.0 0.6 10.8 Daniel Gafford 5 5 14.8 .727 — .667 4.4 0.4 0.2 0.6 8.0 Derrick Jones Jr. 5 5 23.2 .433 .250 .800 2.8 0.6 0.6 0.6 6.6 Dereck Lively II 5 0 22.8 .706 1.000 .429 8.2 0.4 0.8 0.2 5.6 Josh Green 5 0 19.4 .450 .545 .500 2.8 0.6 0.4 0.0 5.4 Jaden Hardy 5 0 6.5 .438 .400 .833 1.2 1.0 0.0 0.0 4.2 Tim Hardaway Jr. 4 0 11.9 .333 .417 — 1.5 0.3 0.3 0.0 3.8 Dante Exum 5 0 8.2 .700 .667 .500 1.0 0.4 0.2 0.0 3.8 Markieff Morris 1 0 12.0 .200 .333 — 4.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 Maxi Kleber 5 0 15.9 .250 .167 1.000 1.4 0.6 0.2 0.2 1.8 A. J. Lawson 2 0 5.3 .500 — — 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 Dwight Powell 3 0 5.2 — — — 1.3 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 Olivier-Maxence Prosper 2 0 4.0 .000 — — 1.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 Boston Celtics statistics Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Jayson Tatum 5 5 40.2 .388 .263 .926 7.8 7.2 1.0 0.6 22.2 Jaylen Brown 5 5 38.5 .440 .235 .733 5.4 5.0 1.6 0.8 20.8 Jrue Holiday 5 5 37.8 .536 .421 1.000 7.4 3.8 0.6 0.6 14.4 Derrick White 5 5 36.7 .389 .395 1.000 4.8 2.6 1.2 1.0 13.8 Al Horford 5 5 30.0 .520 .471 .500 6.2 2.6 1.2 0.6 7.0 Kristaps Porziņģis 3 0 20.0 .583 .222 .875 3.7 0.3 0.0 1.7 12.3 Sam Hauser 5 0 15.5 .519 .478 1.000 3.0 0.6 0.2 0.0 8.2 Payton Pritchard 5 0 12.4 .250 .188 — 1.4 1.6 0.2 0.0 3.4 Xier Tillman 2 0 9.3 .667 1.000 1.000 2.5 0.5 0.0 1.0 3.0 Oshae Brissett 3 0 6.2 .500 1.000 1.000 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 2.3 Neemias Queta 1 0 5.4 1.000 — — 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 Sviatosl Mykhailiuk 3 0 4.4 .250 .200 — 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.7 Luke Kornet 3 0 5.1 .500 — — 0.7 0.7 0.3 0.0 0.7 Jaden Springer 1 0 8.0 .000 — — 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Jordan Walsh 1 0 5.4 .000 .000 — 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Bold: team high Source:[71][72] Media coverage[edit]The Finals was televised in the United States by ABC (including local affiliates WCVB-TV in Boston and WFAA in Dallas) for the 22nd consecutive year. This marked the first and only Finals called by the team of play-by-play announcer Mike Breen, analysts Doris Burke and JJ Redick, and sideline reporter Lisa Salters.[73] This made Burke the first woman to serve as a television analyst for a major men's professional championship event.[74] Furthermore, this was the first Finals since 2006 without Jeff Van Gundy or Mark Jackson as commentators, as they were laid off after the previous year's finals.[75][76] Following the conclusion of the Finals, however, Redick was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.[77]
The Finals was broadcast on ESPN Radio with Marc Kestecher and P. J. Carlesimo as commentators, as well as Jorge Sedano as the reporter. This was the first Finals since 2019 without Doris Burke as a radio commentator.[78]
Viewership[edit] See also: NBA Finals television ratingsGame 1 was, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic-affected 2020 and 2021 editions, the least-watched opening match for the Finals since 2007, with its 10.99 million viewers being a 5% decrease in erage viewership from the previous Finals and an 8% decrease from the last Celtics appearance in 2022.[79] Game 2 saw a 10% increase in viewership from the first game, making it the best-performing Game 2 since 2019.[80] Game 3 received slightly less viewers than the previous game while being a 2% increase compared to its predecessor in 2023.[81] With the Celtics holding a 3–0 series lead, Game 4 received only 9.62 million viewers, making it the second least-watched game of its kind since tracking began, only behind the 2020 edition.[82] Game 5 closed the series out with an eraged 12.2 million viewers, giving the overall series an erage rating of 5.8 and a viewership of 11.31 million, approximately a 3% decrease from the 2023 edition.[83] Some commentators blamed the rather disappointing viewership on the assortment of blowouts which characterized several of the games.[82][83]
Game Ratings(American households) American audience(in millions) Ref 1 5.7 10.99 [84] 2 6.2 12.31 [85] 3 6.0 11.43 [81] 4 4.7 9.62 [86] 5 6.3 12.22 [87][88] Avg 5.8 11.315 [89] Impact[edit] Celebration[edit] The Celtics convoy heading down the street during the parade.Boston mayor Michelle Wu announced on June 18, 2024, the details for a parade celebrating the Celtics victory, scheduled to take place at 11:00 a.m on June 21. The team would ride the city's traditional ceremonious duck boats starting "in front of TD Garden on Causeway Street, passing by City Hall Plaza and the Boston Common on Tremont Street and ending on Boylston Street by the Hynes Convention Center."[90] On the scheduled day, the celebration first included a rally at TD Garden featuring the Celtics players and their relatives, organization and arena staff, season ticket holders and notables including Mayor Wu and Massachusetts governor Maura Healey. The parade then began at 11:15 a.m. and concluded around 90 minutes later. Estimates for the parade's turnout reported at least over 1 million people, with the MBTA Commuter Rail claiming ridership "on par with 5 days of regular weekday ridership condensed into 5-6 hours."[91]
Records and achievements[edit] Among the many Celtics who won their first NBA championship is Al Horford, who had previously played 186 playoff games without one.The Celtics' victory ge them their 18th franchise championship, allowing them to surpass the Los Angeles Lakers, who they were tied with since 2020, as the franchise with the most championships in the NBA.[92] The victory ended the second-longest franchise drought without a championship at 16 years.[2] The Celtics claimed the 13th championship title this century for a team from the big four sports leagues (the NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL) based in the Boston area.[63]
The Celtics finished with a combined 80–21 record including the regular season and the playoffs, and a .792 winning percentage, the second highest in franchise history behind the 1985–86 Celtics season.[63] Until their victory, the Celtics played more postseason games over an eight-season span without winning an NBA title than any team in the history of the NBA. With the win, the Celtics finished with the second-best postseason record (16–3) since the NBA went to four best-of-seven rounds of the playoffs in 2003, only behind the 2016–17 Golden State Warriors, who went 16–1.[62]
Aside from Jrue Holiday, who won a title with the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks, every player on the Celtics won their first championship. Al Horford set a record for the most playoff games without an NBA championship before winning one with 186.[92] Only Karl Malone has played more playoff games (193) and never won a championship.[93] Tatum and Brown's 107 playoff games played together represent the most by a duo prior to winning their first championship in NBA history.[63] Among the many international players on the Celtics, Horford, Porziņģis and Neemias Queta represent the first Dominican-,[94][95] Latvian-[96] and Portuguese-born[97] players, respectively, to win a championship. For the coaching staff, this represented head coach Joe Mazzulla, and assistant coaches Anthony Dobbins, Amile Jefferson, D. J. MacLeay and Matt Reynolds's first NBA championship—as well as the second for Charles Lee (2021), and fourth for Sam Cassell (1994, 1995, 2008 as a player). It also represented the first championship for 2023–24 NBA Executive of the Year Award winner, Brad Stevens, and the culmination of a ten-year rebuild that began when he originally joined the Celtics in 2013 as the head coach.[98]
The NBA playoff pool was at a record $33,657,947 (USD), which is distributed to each of the 16 playoff teams. Boston's share of the NBA's playoff pool prior to the victory was $7,202,498. By clinching the championship they tacked on another $4,856,937 in winnings, bringing their total to $12,059,435, the most a team has ever won from the postseason bonus money pool. Dallas' share ended up at $5,899,422.[92][99] The victory triggered a contractual bonus of $1,183,200 for Holiday.[100] In total, Holiday's achievements in his first season with the Celtics netted him around $2.8 million, which represents every incentive bonus in his contract.[101][102]
Playing for the US Men's Basketball team later that summer, Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White would join Khris Middleton (2021), Holiday (2021, who did after winning with the Bucks), Kyrie Irving (2016), LeBron James (2012), Scottie Pippen (1996, 1992) and Michael Jordan (1992) as the only players to win an NBA Finals and Olympic gold medal in the same year. Holiday also joined Pippen as the only players to accomplish this feat twice. There was controversy surrounding Tatum's role on the Olympic team due to his lack of playing time.[103] There was also some outrage from Celtics fans as co-star Jaylen Brown was left off the team for conflicting reasons.[104][105]
Aftermath[edit] Mericks[edit]The following 2024–25 season, the Mericks traded away superstar Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers midway through the season in a controversial blockbuster trade that was regarded as one of the most shocking and unexpected trades in American sports history.[106] Due to this unexpected trade, Kyrie Irving's ACL tear and a litany of other injuries throughout the season, the Mericks became the first team since the 2019–20 Golden State Warriors to miss the playoffs after reaching the NBA Finals the previous season. The Mericks received the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, against 1.8 percent draft lottery odds, and took star forward Cooper Flagg from Duke.[107][108]
Just 17 months after the 2024 NBA Finals, the Mericks fired general manager Nico Harrison following a poor start to the 2025-2026 season (3-8) and immense fan backlash after his controversial trade of star Dončić.[109]
Celtics[edit]After winning the championship, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck put the team up for sale. In March 2025, they were sold sold for $6.1 billion to group led by private equity executive Bill Chisholm.[110] The Celtics were unable to defend their NBA title the next season, making it was the seventh straight season the NBA did not he a repeat champion—the second-longest such stretch in league history. In the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Celtics were upset by the Knicks in six games. In the series, Tatum torn his Achilles tendon, putting a question mark on the future of the team with new ownership coming in and a record payroll.[111][112]
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