The Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals to win the finals series 4-1 and lift the NBA championship trophy. This is the 18th NBA Championship for the franchise and its first since the 2007-08 season.
The Celtics now hold the record for most NBA championships, passing their rivals Los Angeles Lakers, who have 17.
Since their title in 2008 with the big three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, the Celtics have come close several times to winning another championship. They returned to the NBA Finals in 2009–10 but lost a close-contested series to the Lakers. Boston has made six conference finals since then, including reaching the NBA Finals in 2021–22, but never managed to finish the job.
However, everything fell in place for the Celtics in the 2023-24 season. They finished with the best regular-season record at 64-18 and then blazed through the playoffs. On their road to the NBA trophy, the Celtics only lost three games and never more than one in a series.
“I mean, this is going to be a night that I will remember for the rest of my life, from the game, the celebration, these moments,” said Celtics’ star Jayson Tatum after Game 5. “Over the last couple of years, we had some tough losses at home in the playoffs. We’ve lost the NBA championship at home in front of our fans. We had a chance to beat Miami in Game 6 a few years ago and lost that one.”
