The Boston Celtics are fresh off their first championship victory in 16 years. They took home Banner 18 in a five-game series win over Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, giving Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and everyone else on Boston’s roster (outside of Jrue Holiday, who earned ring No. 2) their first ring. Now, they’ll be heading into next season with a nearly identical roster.
Brad Stevens re-signed Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman, and Neemias Queta, and handed extensions to Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Sam Hauser. Everyone except for Oshae Brissett and Svi Mykhailiuk will be back in Boston next season, and rookies Baylor Scheierman and Anton Watson were added to the team.
By bringing back the same roster that just won a title, the Celtics have a good chance of repeating the success they enjoyed last year. At least, Tatum thinks so.
Jayson Tatum predicts Celtics will play Mavericks in 2025 NBA Finals
Tatum recently made an appearance on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” to promote his new book, Baby Dunks-a-Lot, and Fallon asked him to make his prediction for next year’s NBA Finals.
Obviously, Tatum predicted that the Celtics would reach their second straight Finals, but as for their Western Conference opponent, he made a simple choice.
"It's gonna be a rematch. We're going to play Dallas again," Tatum said.
Jayson Tatum makes some predictions about the upcoming NBA season in a segment on Jimmy Fallon, including:
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) September 12, 2024
- He will win MVP (“Am I allowed to say myself?”)
- The Celtics and the Mavericks will face off again in the Finals
- The Knicks will win more games than last year pic.twitter.com/iKvJo8D4iC
The Celtics star took a long time to make his selection, as he was clearly weighing his options in the West. Teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves could have been respectable picks, but Tatum went with the Mavs.
Dallas made some significant moves to change their roster this summer. Most notably, they signed long-time Golden State Warriors wing Klay Thompson to a three-year contract.
In addition, the Mavericks added Naji Marshall, Quentin Grimes, and Spencer Dinwiddie in a variety of different moves.
In all likelihood, the Mavericks’ starting lineup heading into next season will look something like Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Thompson, Marshall, and Dereck Lively II. But more importantly, the additions they made will give them a bit more shooting next to Doncic and Irving.
Should the Celtics play the Mavs in the Finals again next year, they would get a chance to enforce the same philosophies that won them a ring this past season.
Boston refused to double Doncic and Irving, instead choosing to guard them straight up, regardless of who got switched onto them. Meanwhile, on defense, the Celtics lived with certain guys shooting from the three-point line. The result was a resounding win for the Celtics.