Dallas Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway, Jr.'s choice for America's basketball team won't please LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers or Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors. The Mavs' Tim Hardaway, Jr. proclaimed Jayson Tatum's Boston Celtics as America's basketball team on the Tidal League Podcast this weekend.

“It's definitely not the Warriors…America's basketball team?” Hardaway said.

After giving the question a lot of thought, Tim Hardaway, Jr. had an answer.

“I think it's Boston…They've been winning since the start of this sh*t. It's either (Lakers) or Boston for me, but I say Boston,” Hardaway concluded.

The Celtics have 17 championship banners hanging in the rafters of TD Garden. They had a chance to win their 18th championship in the 2022-23 NBA season but fell to the Miami Heat in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Nevertheless, the Celtics will make another run at the title this season. Their veteran core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Al Horford lead the charge. Boston also acquired Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis in the offseason so they will have a different vibe without Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon.

Smart and Porzingis were part of a three-team deal that involved the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies this past summer.  On the other hand, the Celtics acquired Holiday in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers for Brogdon and Robert Williams several weeks ago.

While the Celtics have a proud winning tradition, they're not as globally popular as the Lakers and Warriors. That fact doesn't faze the Mavs' Tim Hardaway, Jr., who feels the Celtics are America's basketball team. Let's see if the Celtics prove him right if they win another championship in 2023-24.