Inside The Nuggets

Boston Celtics Star Jayson Tatum Makes Very Honest Denver Nuggets Statement

A Celtics-Nuggets NBA Finals would have been a great battle.

Joey Linn

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the second half at Ball Arena.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the second half at Ball Arena. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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The Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals. Finally getting over the hump after several postseason disappointments, Boston was led by the star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

The 2024 Finals MVP award went to Brown, but Tatum had a great series against Dallas. Tatum led Boston in points, rebounds, and assists in the Finals. Averaging 22/8/7 in five games, Tatum did some of everything for Boston.

Some felt Tatum should have won Finals MVP, but the All-NBA forward was happy for his teammate when Brown was given the award.

"Well deserved," Tatum said of Brown winning Finals MVP. "I'm extremely happy for him."

During a recent interview with Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, Tatum gave an interesting answer when asked when he knew this Celtics team would win it all.

"People always ask me, when did you guys know you were going to win a championship? When Minnesota beat Denver, I felt like Denver was the only team that they matched up best with us,” Tatum said via Washburn. “I thought that we were going to play Denver in the Finals and it was going to be a good one."

Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the second half at Ball Arena. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Denver lost a tough seven-game seres against Minnesota in the Western Conference Semifinals. A Nuggets-Celtics NBA Finals would have likely been more competitive than the five-game series Boston won over Dallas, but sometimes that is how the bracket breaks.

Denver projects to be in the title mix as long as Nikola Jokic is on their team, and they will look to make a deeper run next postseason. As for Boston, they are the favorites many places to repeat as champions.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Title: Credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation Email: joeylinn52@gmail.com Education: Communication Studies degree from Biola University Location: Los Angeles, California Expertise: NBA analysis and reporting Experience: Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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