When the NBA Finals begin Thursday the Bostin Celtics will be trying to make history on multiple fronts as they face the Dallas Mavericks.
First, they will be seeking their 18th championship banner, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in league history.
Second, their head coach Joe Mazzula would become at 35 the youngest head coach to win a title since Bill Russell back in 1969. Mazzulla only got the interim tag removed from his position at the start of this season.
The league is also making news in the broadcast booth as commentator Doris Burke will be the first woman analyst on an NBA Finals telecast.
If all that wasn’t enough, there is also the spectacle of Kyrie Irving returning to Boston. Irving was once the toast of the town. He helped the Celtics reach Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2017-18 season, which was also Jayson Tatum’s rookie season.
But Irving missed that series with a knee injury and the Celtics narrowly lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in LeBron James’ title season there.
After telling Celtics fans he was committed to being on the team long-term at the start of the 2018-19 season, Irving changed his mind.
He had an uneven season, played poorly in the playoffs as they lost to the Bucks, then departed that July for the Nets.
He’s been widely booed in Boston ever since. But now he has teamed with Luka Doncic to give the Dallas Mavericks a potent backcourt.
The duo shredded the backcourt of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, and will pose a huge problem for the Celtics.
Dallas is in the NBA Finals for only the third time in team history, but they certainly want to win a second title.
But no matter who wins, NBA fans will certainly get an entertaining and fiercely contested championship series.
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