The NBA Finals matchup is set, and at least one former Duke basketball star will win his first ring this season.
The Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks will battle for the Larry O’Brien Trophy in a best-of-seven series.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum, the third overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, made his third consecutive All-NBA First Team this season. He’s averaged at least 25 points in each of the last five postseasons, and he finished the Eastern Conference run with 26.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
Tatum and the Celtics reached the Finals in 2022 but lost to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
On the other side, the Dallas Mavericks will follow Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively into battle. Irving, the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA draft, already won a title with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the rookie Lively would join an elite list of NBA champions from Duke.
DALLAS MAVERICKS VS. BOSTON CELTICS FOR THE NBA FINALS! 🏆
WHO YA GOT? đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/cJWy4OA6oS
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) May 31, 2024
Lively, who is playing less than two months after his mother passed away, earned national praise for his breakout performance this postseason.
The first game of the NBA Finals starts on June 6.