The 2023 – 2024 NBA season has officially concluded! The NBA Finals have come and gone, but the champion should shock no one. The team that dominated all year long, the Boston Celtics, are the NBA champions.
Unsurprisingly, the Celtics are hoisting up the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the year. They secured the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and only lost 3 total games on their way to their 18th banner in the rafters. With this championship, the Celtics become the most decorated franchise in NBA history, having the most championships out of any franchise. They were in a tie with their rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, but this puts them back on top.
The Celtics have had a lot of amazing players in their franchise history. From the greatness of Bill Russell, Larry Bird, and even Paul Pierce, the Celtics have never had a shortage of talent for too long. They may be in the process of adding another name to that list, and his name is Jaylen Brown.
Brown’s Spectacular Year
Around this time last year, Brown signed the richest deal in NBA history by agreeing to a 5-year supermax extension worth up to 303 million dollars. At the time of the extension, the Celtics organization was under a lot of criticism for giving so much money to their #2 option. Jayson Tatum was the star of this team, and this seemed like too high of a price to pay for a second fiddle. Let’s take a look at how Brown performed this year after getting paid the big bucks.
During the 2023-24 NBA regular season, Brown averaged 23 points, 3 assists, and 5 rebounds. A superb sidekick to Tatum, who averaged nearly 27 points, 5 assists, and 8 rebounds. This dynamic duo led the C’s to a 64 – 18 record in the regular season, which is the 4th best-ever franchise record for the Celtics.
They were a clear favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference, but there were some doubters. At a time when Tatum couldn’t get his shot to fall, Brown stepped up and had to carry the offensive load at times for the Celtics. Some signature moments for Brown in the playoffs occurred in the Eastern Conference Finals. In Game 1, he shot a clutch three, which forced overtime, and they ended up winning in OT. Brown dropped 40 points on the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 and helped take a commanding lead of 2-0.
The Celtics ended up sweeping the Pacers, but Brown’s clutch moments were not forgotten, as he took home the ECF MVP Award. Brown’s clutch gene didn’t go anywhere during the NBA Finals, as he ended up taking the Finals MVP Award over crucial players like Jrue Holiday or even Tatum himself. After signing such a huge extension, Brown was under a lot of pressure to perform, and he definitely delivered.
Jaylen Brown has solidified himself as one of the best second options in the league. The Celtics are in good hands as long as JB and JT are in town.
Negative Reception of the NBA Finals
The Boston Celtics won the NBA Finals, and yet, it seems like nobody is cheering. The City of Boston is buzzing, but it seems like every other NBA fan is hating on this team. Now, I’ll be honest: I wanted the Dallas Mavericks to win. I am a Lakers fan, so of course, I wanted the Celtics to lose. Despite that, I feel as if a lot of people wanted the Mavericks to win.
One of the biggest reasons I’ve seen the Celtics receive hate is their fanbase. Their fans are some of the most volatile in the world, and some believe they go too far. Others dislike them because of their habit to claim they are the underdogs when in reality, they are not.
The Dallas Mavericks made it all the way to the NBA Finals on the backs of two individuals, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Basketball is a team sport, so of course, there were key contributors other than those two. However for the most part, it was due to the explosive pair of Irving and Doncic. I feel as if a lot of fans were rooting for Kyrie to take revenge on his old team. At least, I was.
On top of all that, it’s easier to root for the underdog. There are fans who have just witnessed the rise and fall of “super teams” in the NBA. The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers were locks to make it to every single NBA Finals matchup. These past couple of years, there has finally been some parody, where every year, a new team hoists the Larry O’Brien.
The Boston Celtics are a team that dominated all season long and have the best starting five in the NBA. It’s easy to look at David and Goliath and root for the underdog, and I don’t think I’m the only one. Just go on social media, and you won’t have to scroll very far to find the animosity towards the Celtics.
It feels like this has been the most hated NBA Champions in a while. There will always be those who hate on whichever team wins, but it seems like there is a huge percentage of NBA fans who especially hate the Celtics.
WNBA Updates
The NBA season may be over but that doesn’t mean there isn’t basketball to be enjoyed. The WNBA has been on a meteoritic rise of popularity recently. A lot of this newfound attention can be attributed to the rookie class and the new talents entering the league. Let’s take a look at how the rookies are adjusting so far in their careers.
The Indiana Fever started off the year a bit rough with a 1 – 9 start, but as of late, they have slowly begun to turn it around. They now sit at 7 – 11, and a large part of that is due to Caitlin Clark. However, her teammates around her have also shown signs of improvement, which helps tremendously. So far into her WNBA career, Caitlin Clark has averaged 16 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds.
Another rookie who was a phenom during college was Angel Reese. She was drafted by the Chicago Sky and is averaging 13 points, 2 assists, and 11 rebounds. The Sky and Fever have matched up 3 times so far this season, with the Fever winning two of those matchups earlier in the year. However, it was the Sky that ended up winning in a highly contested 88 – 87 win. A huge part of that win was due to Reese’s play, in which she put up a career-high 25-point performance and fought for 16 rebounds.
The Chicago Sky are currently sitting at a 6 – 9. They may not be super competitive yet, but the future is looking bright for Chicago.
Finally, the second overall pick in last year’s WNBA draft was Cameron Brink to the Los Angeles Sparks. She is averaging 7 points, 1 assist, and 5 rebounds. This Sparks team is currently sitting at a 4 – 13 record overall. It’s been a rough year for LA, but she is gaining valuable minutes in her rookie year, starting as the center for the Sparks.
That’s just an update on how some of the rookies are doing so far in their careers. The team currently running the league is the New York Liberty, who have the best record in the WNBA at 15 – 3. They also lead the league in points per game, field goal percentage, and 3-pointers made.
They’re a team that’s been very hard to beat because it’s almost like they’re a two-headed dragon. Both Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu are averaging 19 points per game with 4 and 6 assists and 8 and 4 rebounds, respectively. This is a team with enough firepower to bombard their opponent with offense, and their defense is nothing to snooze at either, as they sit in the Top 5 of defensive rankings among all WNBA teams. The playoffs don’t roll around until September so there is still plenty of time to enjoy WNBA basketball!
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