Dallas Mavericks To Play Boston Celtics in 2024 NBA Finals

The Mavericks will have to beat one of the most successful franchises in sports history to win the title

Jan 5, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) in action during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Mavericks have advanced to the NBA Finals with a 124-103 win in Game 5 over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals. Waiting for them is the Boston Celtics, who had the league's best record this season at 64-18 and beat the Mavs in both games this season.

This is Dallas' third-ever appearance in the Finals, having only played the Miami Heat to this point. They won the title in 2011 and lost in 2006. Meanwhile, this will be Boston's 23rd appearance in the finals, and have won 17 championships, most recently in 2008. That is their only title since Larry Bird retired. They were just in The Finals two years ago but lost to Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in six games.

READ MORE: Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving Lead Dallas Mavericks to NBA Finals After Eliminating Timberwolves

Boston reached The Finals by beating the Miami Heat (without Jimmy Butler) in five games in the first round, the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round (who were missing Donovan Mitchell for the final two games and Jarrett Allen for the entire series), and the Indiana Pacers in the conference finals in a clean sweep (didn't have Tyrese Haliburton for the final two games). Dallas beat the Clippers in 6 games in the first round (only had Kawhi Leonard for two games and clearly wasn't healthy when playing), the Oklahoma City Thunder in 6 games in the second round, and the Timberwolves in the conference finals. The Mavericks had to beat three of the five best teams in the NBA record-wise to reach this point, while the Celtics' most formidable opponent had 48 wins.

There are all kinds of storylines interlinking these two teams: Kyrie Irving returning to Boston after an ugly divorce from the franchise (including stomping on the midcourt logo, burning sage in the arena, and flipping off the fans behind his head before an inbounds pass all while with Brooklyn), Kristaps Porzingis facing his former Mavericks after admitting he didn't give his all with the franchise and didn't really get along with Luka Doncic, Dwight Powell (if he plays) facing the team he started on, and both teams reaching this level because of trades with the Brooklyn Nets (Mavs traded for Irving last season from Brooklyn, while the Celtics traded an aging Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets over a decade ago, and picked up Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown with those assets).

While Luka Doncic will be appearing in his first NBA Finals, this will be Kyrie Irving's fourth appearance. His previous three all came with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The 2024 NBA Finals will start on Thursday, June 6th in Boston on ABC at 7:30 p.m. CST, so there is plenty of time off for both teams, which will be big for Luka Doncic, Dereck Lively II, Maxi Kleber, and Kristaps Porzingis to get healthier.

READ MORE: Luka Doncic Passed Dirk Nowitzki For Dallas Mavericks Playoff Record In Game 4 Against Timberwolves

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