Jayson Tatum is celebrating the Celtics’ recent championship victory, their first in 16 years during the Tatum/Jaylen Brown era.
The Celtics had been striving for this success for years, ultimately claiming their 18th NBA championship.
Reflecting on their season, it’s clear the Celtics were dominant, finishing with a 64-18 record and achieving impressive stats in point differential and NET rating.
They maintained this excellence throughout the playoffs, going 16-3 and never needing a Game 6.
Despite the Celtics’ success, the Denver Nuggets were perceived as their main challengers.
The Nuggets managed to sweep the Celtics in their two regular-season meetings, demonstrating their strength as defending champions. However, the Celtics did not face the Nuggets in the Finals.
Nuggets fans may feel they could have posed a serious challenge had they reached the Finals, a sentiment Tatum echoed in an interview with Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
When asked when he realized they would win the championship, Tatum candidly responded, “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.”
Tatum’s honesty is refreshing, highlighting the respect the Celtics hold for the Nuggets as formidable opponents. Yet, it’s also a reminder of what might have been, leaving fans to ponder the lost opportunity of the 2024 season.
The Celtics seized the title, but the potential clash with the Nuggets remains a tantalizing “what if.”
