The Boston Celtics won the 2024 NBA championship very decisively following a dominant regular season. This has led to many wondering, and almost even expecting the team to repeat as champions next season. However, it’s never quite that easy. In fact, LA Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal recently even came out and said that this won’t happen before he explained why he believes in this so strongly.
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Shaq first announced what the NBA community has known for a long time already – Jayson Tatum and Co. had an easy path to the NBA Finals. He then made it clear that this was not the team’s fault. However, he then said that things stiffen up in a hurry once the franchise wins an NBA championship.
“No [Boston isn’t poised to repeat], because even though they have the championship… Boston had it easy. It’s not their fault, I don’t care, they won… Their rod was too easy. So, when their road stiffens up, and they don’t win, then that statement will be verified. If they win next year, with all these teams healthy, got to give them their respect.” [per The Big Podcast]
He immediately followed his statement up with a rather candid one, saying, “You know how us haters and US commentators do. ‘Okay, you got one, win two!'”. Unfortunately for him, this is unlikely to stop Celtics fans from having problems with his opinion.
Still, it is very difficult to argue with Shaq’s logic on this one. After all, the Celtics absolutely had an easy path to the NBA Finals, with just about every one of their opponents seeing injuries to their biggest stars. While this wasn’t their fault, next season is unlikely to be the same.
Fortunately, Boston does seem to be aware of this. As soon as the offseason kicked off, they immediately locked Jayson Tatum down to a $314 million supermax contract. The franchise didn’t stop there either, as it ensured their core five would also run it back next season.
The team’s front office has done all it can to make sure this dominant side stays together. The onus is now on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to purge any remaining doubts about this team. And the only way to do it is to win the NBA championship all over again next season.
