As the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics prepare to tip off the NBA Finals, the four biggest names in the highly-anticipated series find themselves pursuing redemption through different lenses.
For Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, it’s a chance to rewrite their legacy after falling just short in the 2022 Finals before an underwhelming 2023 campaign.
As the Celtics’ most senior players, the duo knows missed opportunities can be fleeting.
“You think that you’re young, if you’ve been once, you’ll continue to keep going,” admitted Tatum. “We realized that last year. We kind of took it for granted at certain moments.”
Tatum insists dwelling on legacies can wait: “I’m not thinking about what it would mean for my legacy or anything like that. Just excited to play some basketball…and go out there and try to get the job done.”
For Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, these Finals represent a first chance to maximize their new partnership. Irving arrived in a midseason trade from Brooklyn to vault the Mavericks into contenders position in 2023. While they found chemistry too late last year, this postseason run validated their potential.
“These young guys are very hungry. They want a championship. I want a championship,” said Irving, whose lone ring came in 2016 with Cleveland. “Failure is going to be part of this, too…but I’m just very real, very honest. That’s what’s helped me grow as a leader.”
Doncic has been the prime beneficiary, crediting Irving’s “amazing” leadership for unlocking the No. 5 seed Mavericks’ playoff upstart story. “He’s the one that’s been in the Finals. He’s the one that won in the Finals. He’s the one that is really leading it.”
They’ll meet a balanced Boston squad embracing a redemption arc. Despite a strong 64-win regular season establishing them as favorites, the Celtics remain haunted by recent playoff shortcomings under second-year coach Joe Mazzulla.
“I think this is a special group. I really do,” said Brown. “We’ve been able to go through the experiences of having success but not having success at the same time. I think to solidify the ultimate goal is to get over the hump and win.”
An offseason roster upheaval added championship experience like Kristaps Porzingis and 2021 winner Jrue Holiday alongside the gritty core of Brown, Tatum, Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd knows this championship stage well from playing and coaching Finals for over two decades. His perspective for Dallas is to embrace the bright lights and “have fun” while being “ready to live with the results.”
The 2024 Finals have the makings of a legacy-defining clash between two teams painfully aware that windows for NBA greatness can close abruptly. The battle begins tonight.