Tag: NBA Finals

The youngest players to win an NBA title

Some youngsters had essential roles in clinching the NBA title, like Kobe Bryant against the Indiana Pacers in 2000. Others, like Celtics forward Jordan Walsh, only played five minutes and 25 seconds in the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas …

Some youngsters had essential roles in clinching the NBA title, like Kobe Bryant against the Indiana Pacers in 2000. Others, like Celtics forward Jordan Walsh, only played five minutes and 25 seconds in the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Nonetheless, all of them are champions at a very young age.

Below, we present the youngest players in league history to win a championship.

Most recent Notre Dame players to be NBA draft selections

All of these players did the Irish proud before making the jump.

Nobody on Notre Dame’s veteran-laden team from this past season will be selected in Thursday’s NBA draft. In fact, given the inexperience across the board on the upcoming season’s roster and under a new coach no less, it could be quite a while before we see another Notre Dame player drafted. On the bright side, that means no early departures except via the transfer portal. Then again, it sure would be nice to have NBA-ready talent in South Bend.

The only way to deal with a challenging present and short-term future is to look to the past. In this case, the way to go about that is to look at former players who heard their names called on draft night over the past several years. Of the 62 former Notre Dame players who have suited up in the NBA or ABA, 41 have entered professional basketball via the draft. Here are the most recent ones:

UCLA Bruins hoops alums keep stacking NBA rings

More accolades for the former Bruins.

With the Boston Celtics coming away with the 2024 NBA title, the UCLA Bruins were once again represented. It was the 8th time in 9 seasons that the Bruins had a former player help win an NBA title.

Jrue Holiday won his second. The last time he won a title was in 2021. In 2022 Kevon Looney won a title with the Warriors, and in 2023 Peyton Watson was a member of the Denver Nuggets.

The last time there was not a former UCLA Bruins basketball star was in 2020. Before that, Norman Powell won in 2019, with Looney winning back-to-back in 2017 and 2018. Matt Barnes was also part of the 2017 Golden State Warriors. In 2016, it was Kevin Love who won the ring for the Bruins.

Now, the NBA world turns its attention to the upcoming draft. It is slated for Wednesday, June 26th and Thursday, June 27th. The Barclays Center in Brooklyn New York will once again play host to the draft.

The Ringer moves Jayson Tatum into its top five NBA players

Tatum, fresh off his first NBA championship this week, is now a top-five player in the NBA, according to The Ringer.

With three All-NBA First Team nominations, two Eastern Conference titles, and a Finals victory on his NBA resume now, former Duke basketball star Jayson Tatum is now one of The Ringer’s five best players in basketball.

Tatum scored 31 points and tacked on 11 assists during Monday night’s clinching victory over the Dallas Mavericks. He’s averaged at least 25.0 points per game in the postseason in each of the last five years, and he broke Kobe Bryant’s record for the most postseason points at age 26 or younger.

Last season, Tatum averaged 26.9 points (his fourth straight season with at least 26 points per game), 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game as Boston finished with a 64-18 record, the best in the NBA.

Four other Blue Devils worked their way inside the top 40 of the site’s rankings, and eight former Duke stars made the top 100 in total. Kyrie Irving (25th) and Dereck Lively II (97th) both faced off against Tatum in the Finals after helping the Mavericks to the Western Conference crown.

Zion Williamson (21st), Paolo Banchero (29th), Brandon Ingram (35th). Jalen Johnson (72nd), and RJ Barrett (99th) also appeared on the list.

The best photos of Jayson Tatum at the Boston Celtics championship parade

Jayson Tatum, the newest Duke basketball star with an NBA title on his resume, basked in the adoration of Boston fans on Friday.

Regardless of what comes from this point forward, it’s hard to imagine former Duke basketball star [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] having a better week.

The seven-year NBA veteran won his first NBA title with the Boston Celtics on Monday, scoring 31 points and adding 11 assists in one of his best playoff performances during the clinching Game 5 victory. He finally got his hands on the Larry O’Brien Trophy and got to celebrate with his son Deuce as the confetti fell on Boston’s home court.

After a brief trip to Miami for a full and proper celebration, the Celtics returned to Boston for a victory parade on Friday. Tatum shared a video of him atop one of the buses on social media with the trophy under his arms and former Duke teammate Amile Jefferson, a Boston assistant coach, next to him.

Here are the best photos of Tatum (with Jefferson visible in quite a few) from Friday’s parade and celebrations.

Jrue Holiday is a 2024 NBA champion

Congrats to Jrue!

Former UCLA Bruins guard Jrue Holiday and his Boston Celtics teammates are 2023-2024 NBA Champions. The Celtics used a 67-46 first half to cruise to a Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Holiday recorded a double-double in the game, scoring 15 points and ripping down 11 rebounds in 43 minutes played. Holiday scored double digits in 11 out of his last 12 postseason games. The double-double for Holdiday was his second of the series and third of the postseason.

The 34-year-old averaged 14.5 points per game, and 7.2 rebounds in the series. Holiday had 19 assists and turned the ball over just 7 times in the five-game series.

The former Bruins guard became the first player in NBA history to win a championship in his first season with two separate franchises. Holiday helped the Milwaukee Bucks win the title in 2020-2021.

It appears Holiday will remain with the Celtics. Back in April, he signed a four-year, $135M contract extension. This deal will take him through the 2027-2028 season.

Detroit Pistons fire Notre Dame alumnus Monty Williams as coach

New team leadership has declared Williams an expensive sunk cost.

A year ago, Notre Dame alumnus [autotag]Monty Williams[/autotag] received the biggest coaching contract in NBA history. It turned out to be a very bad investment for the Detroit Pistons, who lost a single-season record 28 straight games en route to finishing a franchise-worst 14-68. That will be the only season Williams sees from the bench.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that the Pistons have fired Williams. This comes less than a month after the hiring of Trajan Langdon as president of basketball operations. The Pistons still owe Williams over $65 million.

One thing Williams and Pistons ownership didn’t agree on as highlighted in the USA TODAY report was how to use second-year guard Jaden Ivey, son of Notre Dame women’s basketball coach [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag]. Obviously, that only was the tip of the iceberg.

The Pistons hired Williams after he was fired by the Phoenix Suns, whom he took to the 2021 NBA Finals. His wife also had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Here’s hoping he can take some time off now to focus on the truly important things in life.

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Patriots QB Drake Maye reacts to Boston Celtics championship win

Drake Maye reacted to the Celtics’ NBA title win

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was among the many who celebrated the Boston Celtics win over the Dallas Mavericks to clinch the NBA finals on Monday night. He recently commented on the Celtics’ Instagram story.

The quarterback has been getting himself accustomed to Boston sports culture. He appeared at several playoff games throughout the last couple of weeks, and he even had a chance to meet up with Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum.

In less than a week, he witnessed Tom Brady get inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame and the Celtics win a championship. It’s been an eventful timeย for a rookie who is looking to bring home a championship of his own.

Hopefully, Maye can eventually add to the collection of New England sports titles. For now, the Patriots are working to be more competitive in the AFC East division and get back to the playoffs.

Jayson Tatum calls out critics in response to historic NBA playoff stat after championship

Jayson Tatum did something pretty unprecedented in the 2024 NBA playoffs en route to his first title, and he let people know he’s heard the noise.

Former Duke basketball star [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] has heard all the noise. Believe that.

The former Blue Devil won his first NBA title on Monday night, a Game 5 victory over Dallas that saw Tatum drop 31 points and deal 11 assists for the clinching win.

The third overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft set a few historic marks en route to the championship, too. He passed Kobe Bryant for the most playoff points before his 27th birthday, and he led the Celtics in points, rebounds, and assists.

Only five other players in NBA history accomplished that same trifecta while winning a championship, putting Tatum in the company of names like LeBron James and fellow Celtics legend Larry Bird.

For a player regularly placed in the crosshairs of social media and talk show discourse, especially after a 12/38 performance from the floor in the first two games of the Finals which prompted Tatum to admit himself that he needed to shoot better. After his two 30-point games in the final three contests of the championship series, with the Larry O’Brien Trophy in hand, Tatum let fans know he’d heard every word.

Tatum joins a list of eight Duke basketball players in school history with an NBA Finals victory on his resume.

Micah Shrewsberry crashes Boston Celtics’ NBA championship celebration

Now that’s a proud former assistant coach.

The Boston Celtics are the NBA champions for a record 18th time in franchise history. They accomplished the feat by knocking off the Dallas Mavericks in a five-game finals. They were the best team in the league during the season and proved it during the playoffs.

[autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] knows the Celtics’ biggest players well. He was an assistant coach under Brad Stevens when Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were drafted, and he stayed on the staff for a few years after until he went back to the college rankings. They clearly remember him as evidenced by this video of Shrewsberry celebrating with Brown and his Finals MVP trophy:

During Shrewsberry’s tenure, the Celtics never got closer than the conference finals, falling to LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in back-to-back seasons. Obviously, things have gotten much better for everybody since then, and Notre Dame fans definitely hope Shrewsberry will get the Irish closer to their own ultimate goal soon.

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