Boston Celtics Win 18th NBA Title, Regain Spot As Team With Most Championships

On Monday, the Boston Celtics regained their status as the NBA team with the most championships, winning their 18th title with a 106-88 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

The Celtics won the series 4-1, cementing their reputation as the NBA’s best team after having boasted the league’s best record over the regular season. Jayson Tatum led the way with 31 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds.  Jaylen Brown, who was named the Most Valuable Player in the Finals, scored 20 points, Jrue Holiday had 15 points, and Derrick White added 14. The Celtics outrebounded the Mavericks 51-35.

Tatum and Brown have been together on the team since 2017, going as far as the NBA Finals but not winning a title until now.

The Celtics led by nine points at the end of the first quarter, then built the lead to 21 points at halftime as Payton Pritchard threw in a three-point shot from beyond halfcourt. The outcome of the game was never in doubt after that.

The title came 16 years to the day after the Celtics won their last championship in 2008, when they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, who have 17 titles, in the Finals. Head coach Joe Mazzulla, 35, became the youngest head coach to win the NBA title since legendary player-coach Bill Russell led the team to its title in 1969 to conclude the most dominant run of titles in sports, as that was the Celtics’ 11th title in 13 years, with a string of eight consecutive championships between 1959-1966.

Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson tweeted, “I hate that the Celtics officially have more championships than us now,” adding, “Celtics GM Brad Stevens trading for Jru Holiday and Kristaps Prozingis was an MVP move that made the Celtics the best team in basketball this year! Adding Holiday made them the perimeter defending team in the league, and adding Prozingis made them the most explosive offensive and best starting 5 in basketball this year! … Joe Mazzulla really improved as a coach this season and had the Celtics prepared for every round of the playoffs, making all the proper adjustments on offense and defense.”