(Photo courtesy of WBUR) “Jayson Tatum hoists the Larry O’Brien trophy.”

Jake Messer
Connector Editor

On June 17, the Boston Celtics knocked off the Dallas Mavericks in five games to win an NBA-record 18th championship, surpassing the Los Angeles Lakers with 17 championships.

Even with such a talented roster, many doubted the Celtics, expecting a post-season collapse like previous seasons. However, that wasn’t the case, as the Celtics silenced all the doubters and critics they had throughout this playoff run.

The Celtics, who finished the regular season with a league-best record of 64-18, secured home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Even with a team that dominated throughout the regular season, only two high-end awards were given to the Celtics for all their dominance.

Forward Jayson Tatum was named to the All-NBA First Team and Brad Stevens was awarded the NBA’s Executive of the Year.

With plenty of skepticism from fans and the media, the Celtics were fueled and ready for the playoffs.

In the first round, they faced off against the Miami Heat. The Heat looked to play spoiler once again for the Celtics as they took Game 2 in Boston thanks to a franchise-record 23 made three-pointers, evening the series 1-1. Many saw this as the typical Celtics, losing games they should win and making it harder on themselves.

However, this wasn’t the Celtics of old. They responded by blowing out the Heat in the next three games to win the series. Game 4 is very notable as it showed the Celtics can respond to criticism. Guard Derrick White helped lead the way with a career-high 38 points. However, during this game, the Celtics lost center Kristaps Porzingis for the foreseeable future due to a right calf injury.

With a starter down, the Celtics would have to rely on 38-year-old center Al Horford to play important minutes for them until Porzingis could return. With the Heat extinguished, the Celtics looked ahead to a matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This series against the Cavaliers followed a similar script to the previous series. The Celtics dominated Game 1, lost Game 2 at home, and responded in kind by winning three straight, clinching the series in

This win marks the sixth time in the last eight seasons that the Celtics were playing in the Eastern Conference Finals. This time around, they faced the Indiana Pacers. This series would really test the Celtics, as the Pacers were quick and unrelenting.

In Game 1, the Celtics were trailing by 3 points with 8.5 seconds remaining. With the game on the line, the team turned to forward Jaylen Brown who buried the game-tying shot in the corner to send the game to overtime. In overtime, the Celtics would hit timely shots and earn themselves a hard-fought victory.

Following a blowout win in Game 2, the series headed to Indiana, where the next two games would be decided by a combined six points. In Game 3, the Celtics overcame an 18-point deficit to win. The dagger was a steal with four seconds left by guard Jrue Holiday.

Game 4 was just as nerve-racking. After a back-and-forth affair, the game was tied up at 102 in the final minute. The winning shot would come from Derrick White as he drained a three-pointer with 44 seconds left to help propel the Celtics to the NBA Finals. Thanks to his Game 1 heroics and stellar play throughout, Jaylen Brown was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP.

All that remained in the Celtics way towards Banner 18 was the Dallas Mavericks. It would be tough, but things would be easier as Porzingis was cleared to play in Game 1, where his impact was felt immediately.

In just the first quarter alone he had 15 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks. This outburst would propel the Celtics to a Game 1 victory.

Game 2 would be more of the same, as Derrick White’s timely block in the final minute would cap off another victory and give the Celtics a 2-0 series lead.

In Game 3, the Celtics would survive a furious comeback by the Mavericks and would go 3-0 in the NBA Finals. After a blowout loss to the Mavericks, all the Celtics had to do was win one more game at home and they would be crowned NBA Champions.

In Game 5, everything went the Celtics’ way. After an outburst of scoring in the first half, guard Payton Pritchard would bury a half-court buzzer-beater. This not only marked the end of the half, but it would also symbolically be the end of the NBA Finals. The Celtics would go on to win the game and Jaylen Brown was named Finals MVP.

After years of coming up short, Banner 18 has finally come home.