2024 NBA Finals

General

This was the first playoff meeting between the Celtics and the Mavericks, as well as for all teams from the Greater Boston and Dallas–Fort Worth areas in any of the four major North American sports leagues.^[3] It was also the third Finals appearance for the Celtics where they played a team from Texas, as they previously defeated the Houston Rockets in the 1981 and 1986 Finals. Boston won both their meetings against Dallas in the regular season,^[4] and finished 14 games better than the Mavericks in the regular season.^[5] The Mavericks were the fifth team in NBA history to reach the Finals without holding 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.^[6] Had the Mavericks won, they would have become the 11th NBA team to win multiple championship titles.^[7]

Boston Celtics

After losing the 2022 NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors, the Boston Celtics were defeated in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals in seven games after mounting a failed attempt to overcome a 3–0 series deficit.^[8] During the off-season, the Celtics were involved in a trade which sent out longtime guard Marcus Smart in exchange for Kristaps Porziņģis.^[9] They also acquired defensive guard Jrue Holiday while trading away Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon and two first-round draft picks.^[10] The retooled roster was once again led by the 'Jays',^[4] 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.^[1]

The Celtics prioritized three-point-shooting offensively while maintaining a versatile roster of defenders.^[11] They dominated throughout the season, winning all of their first 20 games at home,^[12] permanently occupying the first seed position in the Eastern Conference from mid-November onwards,^[13] and finishing with a league-best 64–18 record;^[1] the highest Eastern Conference win percentage since the 2012–13 Miami Heat.^[14] Boston set numerous records during the season. They had the highest offensive rating in NBA history at 123.2,^[10] tied the third-best net rating in NBA history at 11.6,^[15] the fifth-widest margin of outscoring their opponents by an average of 11.3 points per game, and the highest points per possession (1.22) in league history. They also had the widest margin of wins between the first and second seeds in the Eastern Conference since 1976 at 14 games.^[12]

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.^[1] They then faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, again winning in five games. After sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Finals they reached the NBA Finals.^[1] 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.^[14] The Celtics had the best point differential in the playoffs at plus-10, the second-best points-per-game average at 111.4 (behind the Pacers), and allowed the third-lowest points per game for their opponents with 101.3.^[4] 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.^[10]

This was the 23rd appearance in the NBA Finals for the Celtics, and their second in three years.^[16] Media commentators, analysts, and the Celtics themselves viewed the team as in a "championship or bust" scenario, implying their historically dominant season would be overshadowed if they failed to win the Finals.^[1][13][14] 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,^[16] and before then the 1986 Finals.^[17] Joe Mazzulla, the 35-year-old head coach appointed by the Celtics a season prior, was tied with Bill Russell as the youngest coach in league history to lead a team to the finals. Russell did so for the Celtics in 1969 as a player-coach.^[15] Porziņģis met his former team, the Mavericks, in the Finals, having played for them from 2019 to 2022.^[18]

Dallas Mavericks

Mavericks stars Luka Dončić (left) and Kyrie Irving (right) were praised as an elite offensive duo during the season.

Despite acquiring star guard Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline that season, the Dallas Mavericks missed the 2023 NBA playoffs after finishing as the 11th seed in the Western Conference.^[19] 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.^[20]

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.^[13][4][10] 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, averaging 25.6 points on near 50–40–90 shooting percentages.^[21][22] Exum and Jones Jr. provided effective 3-and-D performances,^[22] 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%.^[22][23] However, Dallas nonetheless struggled through the first half of the season barely above the .500 mark.^[20] Until the trade deadline in February, the team was 22nd in defensive rating, 12th in offense and 17th in net rating across the league. Among other roster pieces, Irving and Dončić both missed a significant number of games during that period due to injuries.^[24][22][7]

At the trade deadline, the Mavericks 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 complement the Irving–Dončić backcourt by significantly reinforcing the team's defense into a powerhouse. The trade has been regarded as the catalyst for the Mavericks morphing into championship contenders by the next month. From March 7 onwards, the Mavericks had the best defensive rating, the 12th-best offensive rating and the fifth-best net rating in the league, and went 16–4 to end the season.^[2] From February 1 onwards, Dallas had a 36–15 record: the second best in the league behind the Celtics.^[6] They eventually finished as the fifth seed in the Western Conference with a 50–32 overall record.^[20]

In the first round of the playoffs, the Mavericks faced the Los Angeles Clippers, who had eliminated them in two first-round series in the five years prior. The Mavericks won the series in six games.^[25] In the second round they faced the first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. The Mavericks overcame a 16-point halftime deficit in Game 6 to eliminate the Thunder, advancing to their second Western Conference Finals in three years.^[26] After defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first three games of the Conference Finals by a combined margin of 13 points, dropping Game 4, and winning Game 5 in a 21-point blowout,^[4] the Mavericks 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.^[7] Like Porziņģis, Irving faced off against a former team of his, the Celtics, whom he played for until 2019, having maintained a highly strained relationship with their fan base since his departure. Irving was a combined 0–10 against the Celtics since leaving Boston in free agency.^[4]

Road to the Finals

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

Regular season series

The Celtics won the regular season series 2–0.

Game 1

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 Mavericks.^[27] He became the fourth player to score 20 or more points off the bench in their first NBA Finals appearance.^[28] Jaylen Brown was the highest scorer for the Celtics, recording 22 points,^[29] while Jayson Tatum had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Derrick White had 15 points.^[27] Luka Dončić led the Mavericks with 30 points and 10 rebounds, but went 4 of 12 in three-point attempts.^[30] P. J. Washington was the next highest Mavericks scorer with 14 points, while Kyrie Irving, who received boos from the crowd whenever he touched the ball,^[27] was limited to just 12 points on 6-of-19 overall shooting.^[31]

Entering the game off the bench roughly five minutes into the first quarter,^[32] only the second time he had done so in his career, Porziņģis scored eight points, 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.^[30] The Celtics continued their momentum into the second quarter, going on a 21–11 run^[30] and leading by as much as 29 points before Dončić went on a solo run to end the half at 63–42. Dončić finished the half with 17 points, but no other Mavericks player scored more than six.^[31]

In the third quarter, Dončić opened with 10 points early on^[33] as the Mavericks went on a 35–14 run^[27] 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 take a commanding lead by the end of the quarter.^[34] The Mavericks 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.^[32][27] Boston meanwhile became the first team to have seven players make multiple three-pointers in a Finals game.^[30]

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.^[35]

Game 2

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.^[36] Luka Dončić, who was listed as questionable prior to the game, notched 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, becoming the first Maverick to record a triple-double in the Finals and one of four NBA players to record one with 30-plus points in a loss.^[36][37] Kyrie Irving had 16 points and six assists, but his poor shooting was underscored by the fact that he had yet to make a three-pointer in the series.^[38]

The Mavericks were ahead throughout the entire first quarter and finished with a three-point lead, but the Celtics established a three-point lead of their own by halftime.^[36][39] Dallas struggled with missed free throws,^[39] while the Celtics struggled equally through poor three-point shooting, missing their first eight three-point attempts and going 10 of 39 across the entire game.^[40] 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.^[41]

During the fourth quarter, the Celtics initially pushed their lead further to 14 points,^[39] but the Mavericks 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 remaining.^[36] Boston's troubles were further compounded as Porziņģis aggravated his previous leg injury and was taken out.^[41] 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 score a layup on the other end of the court.^[36] Dončić attempted 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.^[40]

Game 3

Jayson Tatum (left) and Jaylen Brown (right) scored 31 and 30 points respectively to secure a 3–0 series lead for the Celtics.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 31 and 30 points to stave off a late-game Mavericks rally and put the Celtics up 3–0 in the series.^[42] It was the second time in franchise history that two players each scored 30-plus points in a Finals game.^[43] Tatum logged six rebounds and five assists while Brown had eight rebounds and eight assists,^[44] 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.^[45] Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 35 points, while Luka Dončić had 27 points, six rebounds and six assists.^[46] Coming into the game, the Celtics were without the injured Kristaps Porziņģis,^[45] who was replaced by Al Horford and occasionally Xavier Tillman at the center position. The Mavericks, specifically Irving and Dončić, took advantage of the lack of size for Boston to attack the rim,^[47] outscoring Boston 52–36 from the area during the game.^[48]

The Mavericks started strong, scoring nine points to force a timeout from the Celtics early on.^[47] The Mavericks heavily utilized the paint^[48] to outscore the Celtics 22–9 by the midpoint of the quarter—their largest lead in the series by that point. The Celtics responded with a 21–9 run led by Brown and Tatum.^[42][47] 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,^[42] ending the half at a near tie.^[44] The Celtics dominated the third quarter, scoring on their first seven possessions to establish an imposing lead as Brown scored half of his points in the game during the timeframe.^[47] After Dončić made a layup to bring the lead down to six with 5:11 remaining, the Celtics went on a 7–0 run to end the quarter with a 15-point lead, outscoring the Mavericks 35–19 in total.^[46]

Up until the final quarter, the Mavericks, excluding Irving and Dončić, combined for only 19 points.^[49] The Celtics initially continued their offensive momentum into the fourth quarter, capitalized by a three-pointer from White a minute in to extend the lead to 21 points.^[46] However, the Mavericks proceeded to go on a 22–2 run, with contributions from P. J. Washington and Dereck Lively II,^[48] cutting the deficit to 93–90. During this stretch, Dončić fouled out with 4:12 remaining.^[42] Lively later scored a dunk to put the Celtics lead at 100–98 until Brown hit a mid-range jump shot with 1:01 left.^[46] Sam Quinn of CBS Sports retrospectively viewed Brown's shot as "the dagger that won that contest for Boston."^[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 preventing what would have tied the largest comeback from a fourth-quarter deficit in NBA history.^[45]

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.^[51][52]

Game 4

The Mavericks avoided a sweep by the Celtics with a 122–84 blowout victory—the third largest in NBA Finals history—to cut Boston's series lead to 3–1.^[53] 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 Maverick in a Finals game by halftime.^[54] Kyrie Irving had 21 points and six assists,^[55] and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 15 points off five three-pointers in the fourth quarter, becoming the third player to have scored five threes in a single quarter of a Finals game.^[56] Dereck Lively II had 11 points and 12 rebounds, becoming the second player to achieve multiple double-doubles in the Finals at the age of 20.^[57]

Midway through the first quarter, Lively scored his first career three-pointer which gave the Mavericks the lead for the rest of the game.^[53] The Mavericks established a 13-point lead by the end of the first,^[58] and a 26-point lead by the half,^[53] the fourth largest in Finals history.^[57] At halftime, the only Celtics players who made more than one field goal were Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.^[55] The Mavericks continued their momentum into the third quarter, outscoring the Celtics by 15–7 points within the first 4:32. With 3:18 left in the third quarter and the deficit at 36 points, the Celtics ceded defeat by substituting out his starters, which was soon followed by the Mavericks doing the same.^[57]

It was the Celtics' largest defeat of the season and their worst overall since the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals.^[55][59] It ended a 10-game postseason winning streak and seven-game road streak, and avoided the chance of them becoming the first team in NBA history to sweep both the Conference Finals and the Finals.^[53] The 84 points they scored was the lowest tally of the season,^[57] while the game-high 48 points the Mavericks 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.^[53]

Game 5

The Celtics closed out the series in a dominant 106–88 victory at home to claim the NBA championship. Jayson Tatum led them to victory with 31 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists, while Jaylen Brown had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists.^[60] Jrue Holiday, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds,^[60] scored the first three field goals of the game for the Celtics.^[61] Returning from injuries, Kristaps Porziņģis checked in midway through the first quarter to a standing ovation. He finished with five points in 16 minutes.^[62]

The Mavericks managed to cut the lead to a single point midway through the quarter, but the Celtics responded with a 12–3 run powered by eight points between Tatum and Brown. 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.^[60] The Celtics finished the first half with a 21-point lead, which culminated with Payton Pritchard's buzzer-beating half-court shot, the longest made field goal in the Finals since at least 1998.^[63][64] The Mavericks 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.^[64] Yahoo Sports dubbed the fourth quarter a "coronation" for the Celtics.^[61]

Luka Dončić led the Mavericks with 28 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and three steals. He missed his first six three-pointers and finished 2 of 9 from that range. Further noted was his poor defensive performance and his seven turnovers.^[61][65] Nonetheless, he ended the series averaging 29.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists, leading all players in points per game.^[66] Similar to the first two games, Kyrie Irving struggled and finished with 15 points on 5 of 16 shooting. With Dončić and Irving struggling early the Mavericks had no response.^[64][61] The Celtics had a 51–35 rebounding advantage and went 17 of 20 (85%) on their free throws line compared to the Mavericks' 7 of 13 (53.8%).^[61]

With the conclusion of the Finals, Brown was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player after averaging 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. This was in spite of Tatum, generally considered the best player on the Celtics,^[50] leading him in most statistical categories with 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game.^[67] Brown's performance as the primary defender on Dončić was regarded as a major factor in the series, as he limited his three-point shooting to 24.4% and significantly inhibited his playmaking, with his assists dropping from a regular season 9.8 per game.^[66] Brown also had a higher field goal percentage (44%) compared to Tatum (38.8%) and made important shots throughout the series.^[67][50] Both Brown and Tatum said the winner of the award did not matter to them as their goal was to win the championship, each emphasizing each others and the team's accomplishment.^[66]

Boston Celtics

Dallas Mavericks

Viewership

Game 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 average viewership from the previous Finals and an 8% decrease from the last Celtics appearance in 2022.^[76] Game 2 saw a 10% increase in viewership from the first game, making it the best-performing Game 2 since 2019.^[77] Game 3 received slightly less viewers than the previous game while being a 2% increase compared to its predecessor in 2023.^[78] 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.^[79] Game 5 closed the series out with an averaged 12.2 million viewers, giving the overall series an average rating of 5.8 and a viewership of 11.31 million, approximately a 3% decrease from the 2023 edition.^[80] Some commentators blamed the rather disappointing viewership on the assortment of blowouts that characterized several of the games.^[79][80]

Celebration

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 ceremonial 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."^[87] 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."^[88]

Records and achievements

The Celtics' victory gave 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.^[89] The victory ended the second-longest franchise drought without a championship at 16 years.^[1] 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.^[60] The Celtics were the sixth unique champion team in a row, the longest such parity streak in NBA Finals history since 1975–1980.^[90]

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.^[60] 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 16–3, later tied with the 2025–26 New York Knicks for the second-best postseason record 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.^[59][91] Speculation arose of the team potentially becoming a dynasty.^[90]

Aside from Jrue Holiday, who won a title with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, 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.^[89] Only Karl Malone has played more career playoff games (193) without winning a championship.^[92] Tatum and Brown's 107 playoff games played together represent the most by a duo prior to winning their first championship in NBA history.^[60] Among the many international players on the Celtics, Horford, Porziņģis and Neemias Queta represent the first Dominican-,^[93] Latvian-,^[94] and Portuguese-born^[95] 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.^[96]

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.^[89][97] The victory triggered a contractual bonus of $1,183,200 for Holiday.^[98] 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.^[99][100]

Playing for the US Men's Basketball team later that summer, Jrue Holiday^[a], Jayson Tatum and Derrick White would join Khris Middleton (2021), 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.^[101]

Celtics

After winning the championship, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck put the team up for sale. In March 2025, they were sold for $6.1 billion to a group led by private equity executive Bill Chisholm.^[102] It was the largest sale of an NBA franchise until the Los Angeles Lakers surpassed the mark a few months later.^[103]

The Celtics were unable to defend their NBA title the next season despite being favourites to do so, making it the seventh straight season the NBA did not have a repeat champion—the longest such stretch in league history. Boston was defeated in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the New York Knicks in six games, during which Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon.^[104] With key players such as Al Horford, Kristaps Porziņģis, and Luke Kornet leaving the team in the offseason, the 2025–26 season was expected by some to be a "gap year". The new roster exceeded expectations and the Celtics finished as the second seed, with Jaylen Brown being viewed as a MVP candidate and Tatum returning from his injury ahead of schedule in March. They were eliminated by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs in seven games.^[105]

Mavericks

Luka Dončić received criticism for his defensive performance during the Finals despite his offensive prowess.^[106] ESPN sportswriter Brian Windhorst harshly criticized his defense and complaining to officials during Game 3, calling it "unacceptable" and stating it was costing the Mavericks the series. Windhorst said, "If Luka's ever gonna be a winner... he's gonna have to use [this Finals] as a learning experience".^[107]

The following 2024–25 season, the Mavericks traded away Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis in a highly publicized midseason trade.^[108] Windhorst suggested the Mavericks were displeased by Dončić's performance in the Finals as he was never confronted by members of the organization after his Game 3 comments.^[109] NBA insider Marc Spears cited Jayson Tatum's performance against Dončić on both ends as the catalyst to the Mavericks rethinking their commitment to him.^[106]

Injuries to Davis and Kyrie Irving led to the Mavericks becoming the first team since the 2019–20 Golden State Warriors to miss the playoffs after reaching the NBA Finals the previous season.^[110] The Mavericks received the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, against 1.8 percent draft lottery odds, and took star forward Cooper Flagg. General manager Nico Harrison was fired following a poor start to the 2025–26 season and enduring fan backlash to the Dončić trade.^[111]