Entire NBA league faces potential challenge with Celtics title contention
Boston ruled the 2023/24 NBA season, finishing with an impressive record of 80 wins out of 101 games. Led by Brad Stevens, the team added two former All-Stars, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, and embarked on a historic run. The Celtics lost a mere three games en route to the championship, their net rating being the best since Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors with Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.
The dynamic duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, known as the "Jay-Team," spearheaded this dominant team. In the decisive game, Tatum scored 31 points and had 11 assists, while Brown contributed 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Holiday and White provided 29 points and 19 rebounds respectively, with their stifling defense forming a constant threat. Al Horford, who had appeared in 186 playoff games without a title, finally lifted the championship trophy. Porzingis made a comeback from injury and scored two field goals. Hauser drained crucial threes, and Pritchard attempted a signature "Hail Mary" from the midcourt line in the chaotic TD Garden.
Thirty-five-year-old Joe Mazzulla, the youngest coach since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976 to lead a team to the championship, steered this team to victory. Despite calls for his dismissal the previous year, he expertly led and motivated the team to surpass the setbacks of the past.
When Jayson Tatum exulted into the microphone after the championship win, it was a pointed jibe at the skeptics who had questioned this team, particularly the "Jays," their star duo. Jaylen Brown's record-breaking contract, signed shortly after their elimination against Miami in the Conference Finals, had left many baffled. Brown signed a five-year, $304 million deal, while Tatum is expected to sign a slightly higher deal this summer.
As Brown received the Finals MVP trophy from Commissioner Adam Silver, he swiftly acknowledged Tatum's role: "This award is a testament to teamwork, and I share it with my peers and my partner, Jayson Tatum. He stood by my side throughout." Their constant playoff disappointments had prompted many questions about their compatibility. Since Brown's rookie season in 2016/17, Boston has reached the Conference Finals six times and the NBA Finals twice, before finally emerging victorious this year. Their combined 107 playoff games without a title is a new NBA record.
"We've been together through thick and thin," says Brown. "We've been playing together for seven years now and have faced numerous challenges. The media said we couldn't work together or win. But we ignored the noise and just kept pushing. I trust him, and he trusts me. And together we've made it." For the first time, Tatum and Brown trained together the previous summer in preparation for the season. "We've moved past the stage of making All-Star Games and All-NBA Teams," recalls Tatum. "That was great, but it wasn't enough. It was time to make the necessary sacrifices, points, shots, whatever, to build the best team in the league."
Many successful duos before them had come close to winning the NBA championship but ultimately fell short. The likes of Karl Malone and John Stockton in Utah, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor in Los Angeles, Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter in Portland, and even Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City failed to make it past the Finals. The dynamic pairs Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, as well as Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, spent several years in the playoffs without securing a championship for themselves. The "Jays" may have been on the brink of disintegration before reaching the pinnacle of the NBA.
Reminiscing, Tatum says, "Our talent was always underrated." They made it to the Conference Finals twice within their first three years. But people seemed to overlook their youthful inexperience. They were constantly criticized: "They lost, they can't play together. Trade Brown." Nevertheless, no one except Brad Stevens believed in them.
Stevens, a 47-year-old coach, led the Celtics from 2013 to 2021 before taking over as President and General Manager from Danny Ainge, who moved to Utah. Ainge, the original architect of this team, rebuilt after the 2008 championship, trading stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn in 2013 for future draft picks that included Brown and Tatum. Ainge hired Stevens, with no NBA coaching experience, as Head Coach of Butler University in 2013 and promoted him to Boston the next year, bringing in Brown (2016) and Tatum (2017) with the third pick in the draft.
Stevens' calm, strategic leadership transformed the Celtics into a top-tier team. Stars like Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Kemba Walker came yet failed to bring Boston the success they sought. When Ainge left, the team was on the brink of chaos. Stevens stepped into the front office and stabilized the ship. Ime Udoka was hired as Coach and later dismissed, Mazzulla was promoted from assistant to head coach. Rather than cater to the constant naysayers and trade Brown, Stevens remained patient with his young duo, whom he had nurtured since their NBA debuts.
As a manager, he built an almost invincible team around his two new leaders. He rehired veteran Al Horford, a Big Man he had coached in Boston from 2016 to 2019. A trade with San Antonio brought in All-Defensive-Guard Derrick White to Beantown two years ago. Last summer, Stevens executed his masterstroke: he traded two key players and two draft picks for Combo-Guard Jrue Holiday, an NBA Champion in 2021. Then he traded starter and fan favorite Marcus Smart for Kristaps Porzingis. The formidable lineup was complete. The Celtics have since been causing havoc in the league with a modern offense and smothering defense.
New Celtics Dynasty on the Horizon?
Boston's title was the result of years of visionary work. From Ainge to Stevens. From Stevens to Mazzulla. Patience and continuity pays off. With a pillar of quality throughout the franchise - generous team owners, astute management, innovative coaching, the best starting five in the NBA seems feasible for sustained success.
Of course, there are no guarantees in this league. The competition is wide awake. From Denver to Dallas, Milwaukee to Philadelphia, to emerging teams like Minnesota, Oklahoma City, and New York, or veteran teams like Phoenix, L.A., and Miami. At least ten teams will have a say in the championship race of the next few years. In the past six years, a new champion has been crowned every year. Since the Warriors in 2017 and 2018, there have been no back-to-back champions. Since 2019, no champion has even made it back to the Finals. The last three-peat is now more than 20 years ago (Lakers 2000, 2001, and 2002).
The era of dynasties seems to have ended for now. Stevens and Co. are working tirelessly in Boston to potentially reverse this trend. All key players are under long-term contracts. Tatum and White can and will be extended this summer; Horford has reportedly announced his intention to return for his 18th professional season; Brown, Holiday, Porzingis, and Pritchard are all contracted until at least 2026. Mazzulla will not lose any of his key players, which is a rarity for reigning champions. The Celtics will enter the 2024/25 season as overwhelming favorites. Titles are simply the expectation in Boston now: "Even if we one day manage to reach Number 18 - from that day on, we'll be chasing Number 19. That's just how it is."
