Magic Johnson Gives Thoughts on 2024 NBA Finals

Eric Jay Santos | Jun 4, 2024

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks are set to face in the 2024 NBA Finals. Basketball Hall of Famer Earvin Magic Johnson weighed in on the upcoming match-up. 

On his official account on X, formerly known as Twitter, Johnson expressed that the Celtics’ depth gives them an advantage over the Mavericks. 

“Both teams have two superstars - Luka and Kyrie for the Mavs and Jayson and Jaylen for the Celtics. But overall, when you think about the edge in talent, it goes to the Celtics. They have the two next best players in the series in Jrue Holiday and Derrick White - and if Kristaps Porzingis plays, he’ll be the third!”

While acknowledging the Celtics as likely victors, Johnson believes the Mavericks have a legitimate chance of upsetting the championship favorites.

“The Celtics are supposed to win the Series, but I’ve seen the team with the most talent lose before. Remember the 2004 Finals between the Lakers and Pistons? Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Ben Wallace upset my Lakers with 4 Hall of Fame players: Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Gary Payton, and Karl Malone. They even had Horace Grant!”

Johnson gave his summarized analysis on the series. 

“The Mavericks definitely have an opportunity to win the championship as the team that’s hot right now and playing with a lot of confidence and swagger! Luka and Kyrie won’t have the same luxury of resting on defense like they did against the Timberwolves, because every starter on the Celtics team is a scoring threat. Another big difference in this series is Dallas can’t afford for Luka and Kyrie to get into foul trouble, but on the other side, the Celtics can handle Jaylen or Jayson getting in foul trouble and having to sit out because they have depth on their bench!”