Amazing Way for Spartan Nation to Celebrate Xavier Tillman's NBA Title
Michigan State men's basketball product Xavier Tillman Sr. and the Boston Celtics won the 2024 NBA Championship on Monday night when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Boston.
Tillman played in two of the Celtics' five NBA Finals games, both of which were on the road. He posted 3 points in each contest.
You can read all you need to know about Tillman and his team's run to the title by purchasing SI's digital commemorative NBA championship issue here.
Tillman joined the Celtics in the middle of the season when he was traded by the Memphis Grizzlies, the team who selected him in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft.
The former Spartan forward would play 20 games for Boston during the regular season, including two starts. He then played eight games in the playoffs, averaging 8.6 minutes and 1.5 points per game.
Boston finished the regular-season with the NBA's best record and would cruise through the playoffs, losing just three games in total. The club earned its 18th title in franchise history, the most of any NBA organization.
Tillman spent three-plus seasons with Memphis, where he played 207 games, making 56 starts. He was a vital part of the Grizzlies' young core that was led by point guard Ja Morant and former Spartan center Jaren Jackson Jr. Tillman and the Grizzlies would make the playoffs those first three years he was there.
Memphis finished with the second-best record in the Western Conference in the 2022-23 season before being bested by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.
Tillman becomes the ninth Spartan to win an NBA title, joining Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Draymond Green, Bryn Forbes, Shannon Brown, Steve Smith, Kevin Willis and Matt Steigenga. He did so in just four seasons.
Tillman was a crucial member of Coach Tom Izzo's program in his last two seasons as a Spartan. He won the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year award for the 2018-19 season and would go on to help lead Michigan State to the Final Four. The following year, he was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and was a second-team All-Big Ten honoree.
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