The Boston Celtics Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and the Dallas Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, have a combined 21 NBA All-Star Game selections and 13 All-NBA honors. They will bring those lofty achievements into the National Basketball Association Finals that begins tonight (8:30 p.m.) in Boston.
The Celtics arrived at the best-of-seven series by dismissing the Miami Heat 4-1 in the opening round of the playoffs followed by packing up the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1 in Eastern Conference semifinals then sweeping the Indiana Pacers 4-0 in the conference championship. The Mavericks handled the Los Angeles Clippers (4-2), Oklahoma City Thunder (4-2) and lastly the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals 4-1 to reach the league’s conclusive 2024 matchup.
Only Irving among the aforementioned stars has won an NBA championship. Paired with LeBron James, Irving helped lead the Cavaliers to a 4-3 series victory over Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors 4-3 in the 2016 finals. Irving hit a memorable go-ahead 3-pointer with 53 seconds remaining to help cement the Cavs’ 93-89 win. After the Cavs’ finals loss the following season, he requested a trade and on August 22, 2017 was dealt to the Celtics, for which he played 127 regular season games and nine playoff games over two seasons.
Irving signed with the Nets as a free agent in July 2019 after assuring Celtics fans he was returning to Boston. The Nets ultimately traded him to the Mavericks last February 6, ending his tumultuous tenure in Brooklyn. As for his time with the Celtics, the 32-year-old product of St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey, admitted to his faults meeting the media on Monday.
“I think I’m better at consolidating kind of the emotions now or being aware of what it’s going to be like,” Irving said of facing his former team. ”But I will say last time in Boston, I don’t think that was the best…when we played in the playoffs (April 2022) and everyone saw me flip off the birds and kind of lose my s –t a little bit…
“It wasn’t a great reflection on my end towards the next generation on what it means to control your emotions in that type of environment, no matter what people are yelling at you.”
Irving knows he will hear more harsh jeers and vulgarity from the notoriously cantankerous Celtics faithful. It comes with being an archenemy and a chief impediment to the Celtics’ goal of winning the franchise’s first title since 2008. The Mavericks lone championship was won in 2011. It’s been a long drought for both.
Game time!