The NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics ended with the latter winning their 18th title in franchise history (88-106). It was a special moment for Celtics fans as their team ended a 16-year championship drought with a gentleman’s sweep. The Finals had plenty of notable names in attendance, with Shaquille O’Neal attending Games 1 & 2. But despite being in attendance, he put forth a bold claim regarding the matchup between these two teams.
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Shaq claimed the Celtics-Mavericks finals may have been the most dull finals matchup in NBA history. Delving further into why he felt that way, this is what The Big Aristotle had to say while on the latest episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq.
“It was boring. It was the most boring finals in finals history…The reason why I stated the Finals were boring cause when I was a kid, there was always a story.”
The Hall of Famer also drew a few comparisons from the NBA Finals he witnessed as a kid, and how those matchups had one or two moments that defined the series. Back then, there was always something or the other that ended up creating a dramatic storyline around the finals which elevated the experience from a fan’s perspective.
“They body slammed Kurt Rambis in Game 2. Magic—sky hook. He throws the ball, Kareem was wide open but Magic shoots the hook, it still goes in. Larry Bird, fading away, has nobody to pass to, shoots. Like, it was always a story. It was always some drama.”
Shaq reminisced about some of the most iconic moments in finals history that he had the pleasure to watch when he was young. The reason why those moments ended up being so iconic was due to the drama that surrounded both teams as they approached the Finals.
Now, one could argue about the ‘Kyrie Irving facing his former team(Celtics) in the finals’ storyline. However, that still failed to garner the same level of hype and attention. Moreover, had the 2023-24 Finals been a clean sweep instead of a gentleman’s sweep, the finals may have had more allure than it did.
Shaquille O’Neal’s co-host calls out Tatum’s celebrations
Shaquille O’Neal and co-host Adam Lefkoe’s discussion steered from the Finals to Jayson Tatum’s celebrations after winning his first NBA championship. Lefkoe stated how Tatum did not have any original celebrations, ripping off the likes of Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, and Kanye West.
While there has been chatter on social media among fans regarding Tatum’s lack of originality, this take prompted Shaquille O’Neal to come to JT’s aid. As he had mentioned witnessing the greats winning it all and celebrating in their signature fashion, Shaq defended Tatum by saying it was his way of paying homage to his favorite idols.
“As a kid when you see those championships, you remember those moments… So, for him doing that, I thought it was just him paying homage to all his favorite players.”
Growing up, Tatum witnessed some of his favorite players winning NBA championships. Kobe being his favorite player and idol, Tatum took a page out of Bryant’s celebratory ways by holding the championship as he had done back in the day. And being a Celtics player himself, JT did no wrong in copying how Kevin Garnett had celebrated winning his first title in Boston.
Given how much Tatum and the team had struggled to win it all after making deep playoff runs, it was an emotional moment for them all. So, whether the 26-year-old had an original celebration or not, he finally got the monkey off his back of not winning a title. And in the end, that is all that matters.
