The long wait to ring number 19 finally came to an end as the Boston Celtics won the 2024 NBA Finals. They defeated the Dallas Mavericks in a five-game series. The title charge was led by their star duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Recently, JT talked about his experience when he was interviewed by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
During the interview, Jayson Tatum shared that he knew this Celtics team was destined to win the championship at a pivotal point in the season. However, he revealed that he was expecting to face the Denver Nuggets in the Finals instead, but were eliminated in a tough seven-game series by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Semifinals.
People always ask me, when did you guys know you were going to win a championship? When Minnesota beat Denver, I felt like Denver was the only team that they matched up best with us… thought that we were going to play Denver in the Finals and it was going to be a good one.
Jayson Tatum to Gary Washburn
“People always ask me, when did you guys know you were going to win a championship? When Minnesota beat Denver, I felt like Denver was the only team that they matched up best with us. I thought that we were going to play Denver in the Finals and it was going to be a good one.”
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 22, 2024
Furthermore, there’s a general belief among many fans that a Nuggets-Celtics matchup in the NBA Finals would have been more competitive than Boston’s series against Dallas. However, the playoff bracket did not allow for that scenario, thanks to Anthony Edwards performing like a prime Michael Jordan.
However, with Nikola Jokic still leading the Nuggets, Denver is expected to remain a title contender in the future. Meanwhile, the Celtics are considered favorites to repeat as champions next season, and with a target on their back, they are fully embracing the challenge.
Joe Mazzulla visited Jayson Tatum during Olympics woes
Despite winning and leading the Boston Celtics to an NBA title, Jayson Tatum faced controversy during the 2024 Paris Olympics. He was benched for a significant part of Team USA’s gold medal. As such, he averaged just 4.2 points and 4.2 rebounds over five games.
To ensure his players don’t get lost, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla reportedly flew to Paris to check on Tatum, this is as according to The Ringer’s Bill Simmons. Mazzulla, who led Boston to an NBA title in only his second year as head coach.
I think even when Tatum was struggling during the Olympics, Mazzulla flew out to France to kinda make sure everything was okay… People love that dude.
Bill Simmons said on The Ringer
Furthermore, as the C’s head into the new NBA season, Mazzulla will boast of a strong core returning with Tatum, Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White. They begin their title defense against Eastern Conference contenders, the New York Knicks.
