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The time has come to crown a new champion in the NBA. Although it seemed like the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers were the only two teams that could make it to the NBA Finals just several years ago, the NBA is preparing to enshrine a different champion for the sixth consecutive season, the longest such streak the league has seen since 1975-80. The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks have fought for the right to get to the 2024 NBA Finals, but only one of them will be left with the honor of hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy into the air. As a result, only one player will be named the NBA Finals MVP.
The Celtics enter the NBA Finals as the favorites to claim their 18th championship in team history, which would be a new NBA record. This has been the case with Boston since the very start of the season, as their starting unit of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White has been the best in the league.
After going 64-18 during the regular season, the best record in the NBA, the Celtics made quick work of their opponents in the playoffs. Boston defeated the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers in five games each before sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. What is remarkable about the Celtics' run to this point is that they achieved all of this without Porzingis, for the most part, due to a calf injury he is still working his way back from. Whether or not the star big man is healthy enough for the NBA Finals could wind up playing a massive role in determining this year's champion.
Over in the Western Conference, the Mavericks continue to look like the team that may just have what it takes to dethrone the Celtics from the pedestal everyone has held them on since the start of the 2023-24 season. Luka Doncic is a generational talent in his very first finals series, but Kyrie Irving has been here before on multiple occasions, including in 2016 when he won a championship in Cleveland next to LeBron James.
Doncic and Irving have been one of the league's most dynamic scoring duos that no team has been able to solve. Add factors such as PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, and others to the mix, and all of a sudden, the Mavs have what it takes to potentially win their second championship.
If there is anything we know about these two teams heading into the 2024 NBA Finals, it is that they are going to deliver us with a terrific series. On Thursday night, the Celtics will host Game 1 of this championship series, a game that will set the pace for how things play out. The winner of Game 1 will be determined based on who emerges as the favorite for the Finals MVP award. Will this be Doncic, Tatum, or someone else?
Here is an early look at the 2024 NBA Finals MVP rankings ahead of the start of the series:
5. Derrick White – Boston Celtics
Although Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the focal points of the Celtics, Derrick White may just be their most important player. Between his scoring, playmaking, and defensive abilities, White is the glue that holds this team together. In the playoffs, White has continued to fill multiple roles for his team, and his numbers are reflective of the type of player that could sneak into the NBA Finals MVP discussion.
Through 14 playoff games, White has averaged 17.8 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and 40.7 percent from three-point range. White enters the NBA Finals coming off a very strong showing in four games against the Indiana Pacers, a series where he adapted to impact the game in more ways than one due to his three-point shots not falling.
Someone is going to need to step up defensively in this series for the Celtics in order to try and contain both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. With Jrue Holiday expected to shadow Doncic with Brown, that means Irving could realistically be White's responsibility. Should he be able to limit Kyrie's opportunities in this series, White will have a strong case for NBA Final MVP.
4. Kyrie Irving – Dallas Mavericks
When the game is on the line, especially in the NBA Finals, get Kyrie Irving the ball. He has been in these moments before, and if it wasn't for Irving's Game 7 heroics in 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers wouldn't have beaten the Golden State Warriors. The fact of the matter is that Irving knows what it takes to win during big moments of big games. That is why, in a series against his former team, Kyrie is going to be deadly.
Irving is simply one of those players who lives for the playoffs. Although he played at an All-Star level during the regular season, Irving has looked dominant as of late for the Mavericks. In the Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kyrie averaged 27.0 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 49.0 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from three-point range. He enters the NBA Finals after registering 36 points to close out the Timberwolves.
Jrue Holiday is a terrific defender, but he will most likely spend a vast majority of time shadowing Luka Doncic in this series. Should that happen and Irving gets Derrick White as his primary defender, Kyrie will have the upper hand. This would undoubtedly lead to conversations about Irving winning the NBA Finals MVP award.
3. Jaylen Brown – Boston Celtics
Everyone thought Jayson Tatum was going to come away with the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award, but it was Jaylen Brown who earned this distinction after averaging 29.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 51.7 percent from the floor. Despite all the criticism he has received, Brown continues to be one of the best two-way wings in the entire league. He has also been shooting the ball as well as he has all season, at 36.8 percent from the perimeter in the playoffs.
Tatum can't do everything for the Celtics, and the Mavericks are going to really focus on limiting his abilities to get downhill. Quite honestly, it wouldn't be surprising if Tatum struggles in the NBA Finals yet again due to Dallas' focus on defense. As much as guys like White and Kristaps Porzingis will need to step up, potential struggles from Tatum only add pressure to Brown. If the Celtics are to win the 2024 NBA Finals, Brown must step up on offense.
There is no reason why he can't score over 20 points in every game against Dallas, regardless of the pace of play. The Mavs do not have a wing that can equate Brown's athletic talents on the wing, which is why he should be able to get downhill and to his spots offensively with ease. Expect to see some high-scoring performances from Brown in this series.
2. Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics
Of course, Tatum finds himself with the best odds of being the Celtics player to win NBA Finals MVP. This is the obvious choice, as the Celtics' offense will flow through Tatum as their primary ball handler. At the same time, the Mavs may wind up throwing the kitchen sink at Tatum in order to force the ball out of his hands. It will be very interesting to see what type of defensive adjustments Dallas makes over the course of Game 1 in Boston.
This is Tatum's chance for redemption. After failing to live up to expectations against the Warriors in 2022, Tatum received a lot of heat from NBA fans. If he can step up and prove to be the leader of a championship team, the discussion surrounding his status in this league suddenly changes. Tatum is a great player, but is he truly a superstar in this league? Just because you are the best player on the best team in the league doesn't necessarily mean that you are viewed as being a dominant force.
Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant are viewed as the best of the best. This season, Jalen Brunson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have made excellent cases for being in this same class. If Tatum is in the same rank as the players above, he is probably last on the list at this point. For his sake and in order for him to truly cement his legacy with the Celtics, Tatum needs to rise to the occasion and lead them to a title. In doing so, he will need to prove that he is the best player on the court.
1. Luka Doncic – Dallas Mavericks
The Celtics may be the best team in the league, but the Mavericks are the ones that have a ton of momentum entering this series. Luka Doncic has been fantastic throughout the entire playoffs, and he is not worried about the Celtics like other teams in the Eastern Conference were. Doncic understands that they have nobody that can guard him, which is why his confidence is going to be sky-high entering Game 1 on the road. In fact, it wouldn't come as a shock if Doncic exceeded expectations and led all scorers in Game 1 at TD Garden.
Luka and the Mavs have faced much better competition than the Celtics en route to the NBA Finals. Despite going up against great defensive teams in the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves, Doncic has managed to average 28.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game while shooting 43.8 percent from the floor in the postseason. The only reason why his 34.3 three-point percentage doesn't look good is because Doncic hasn't been afraid to take open looks, resulting in double-digit shot attempts from the perimeter.
The fact of the matter is that Doncic is the best player entering this series, and he is going to have the Mavericks ready to go. Although they could lose Game 1 to Boston, it is hard to imagine that the Mavericks won't win one of the first two games on the road. The Celtics have been vulnerable at home in the playoffs, and they have had trouble handling teams early on in playoff series. Doncic will ultimately be the reason Dallas steals one of the first two games in this series, which may just be enough to help lift the Mavs to their second title ever.
