Nearly two months have passed since the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals and won their 18th championship. They finished the season with an astonishing overall record of 80-21, including the regular season and playoffs.
2023-24 Boston Celtics Season Awards
Let’s examine the Celtics star performers and hand out some awards.
MVP: Jayson Tatum
While it was Jaylen Brown who won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Finals MVP in the postseason, Jayson Tatum was the Celtics’ anchor from Game 1 to Game 101.
Tatum averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in the regular season, finishing sixth in MVP award voting. In the playoffs, Tatum impacted every aspect of the game. He led the Celtics in points, rebounds, and assists, and defended both forwards and centers at an extremely high level.
Defensive Player of the Year: Jrue Holiday
Jrue Holiday and Derrick White cemented themselves as one of the greatest defensive backcourts in NBA history last season, typified by their excellent defense on Kyrie Irving in the NBA Finals.
White’s father, Richard, dubbed the duo the “Stock Exchange,” which would also be a fantastic name for a professional wrestling tag team. Unfortunately, only one member of the “Stock Exchange” can win Defensive Player of the Year, and we're giving it to Holiday.
Most Improved Player: Derrick White
While Derrick White earned All-Defensive Second Team honors for the second consecutive year, his offensive output rivaled his sustained level of excellence on the defensive end in 2023-24.
In the postseason, White averaged over three more points and two more assists per game than the season prior, scoring a career-high 38 points in Game 4 of Round 1 of the playoffs against the Miami Heat.
Best Acquisition: Jrue Holiday
Brad Stevens made two moves in the 2023 offseason that enabled the Celtics’ title run. The first was a three-team deal with the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards to acquire former All-Star Kristaps Porzingis. The second was trading Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III, and a 2024 first-round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for Jrue Holiday.
Ultimately, both of the acquisitions were catalysts for Banner 18, providing the Celtics with the necessary firepower and defensive versatility to overcome the proverbial hump.
However, there can only be one winner, and Porzingis’ absence in the playoffs precludes him, if ever so slightly.
Holiday’s aforementioned defense and accuracy from beyond the arc in the postseason (40.2%) were vital for the Celtic, improving upon the contributions of his predecessor, Marcus Smart.