Celtics' Jaylen Brown Shades Doubters with IG Photo After NBA Finals Win vs. Mavs
Boston Celtics star and NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown reveled in his team's championship win Tuesday morning.
Brown took to Instagram to share a post on his story that stated 89 percent of bets placed on the NBA Finals were on the Dallas Mavericks to win the series:
Dallas only managed to win one game in the Finals, though, as the Celtics closed out the Mavs in Game 5 on Monday night 106-88, securing the 18th championship in franchise history.
With Brown, Jayson Tatum and a cast of other high-quality players leading the way, the Celtics were the best team throughout the 2023-24 season, posting a 64-18 record.
They made short work of their first three playoff opponents, beating the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1 each before sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
By comparison, the Mavs were the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference at 50-32, and they played against a better seed in each of their four playoff matchups.
Despite being a lower seed, the Mavs were fairly dominant in their own right, beating the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder 4-2, and taking down the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals.
With the dynamic superstar guard combo of Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving playing at a high level throughout the playoffs, there was some belief or hope among observers that Dallas would be able to give Boston a good series.
Many of the bets on the Mavericks were likely wishful thinking more than anything, though, as well as something of a flier since the Celtics were favored.
Dallas had the star power up top to potentially compete with the Celtics, but Boston's depth was too much to overcome, as Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porziņģis and Al Horford all contributed at a high level in addition to Brown and Tatum.
Ultimately, Brown was named NBA Finals MVP thanks to his all-around contributions and clutch play, as he averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 three-pointers made and 1.6 steals per game during the Finals.
Brown and the Celtics likely silenced the rest of their doubters during the NBA Finals if they had any left, and with the entire core set to return next season, back-to-back championships are very much within reach.
