Jayson Tatum Was Wrong About The Dallas Mavericks

The Boston Celtics are coming off a season where they won their first NBA Championship in 16 years.

They beat the Dallas Mavericks (in five games).

Before the season began, Celtics star Jayson Tatum was asked to give his prediction for the 2025 NBA Finals (via Jimmy Fallon on September 12, 2024).

Fallon: “Predict which two teams will be in the NBA Finals next summer.”

Tatum: “The Boston Celtics… It’s gonna be a rematch. We’re gonna play Dallas again.”

The Mavs ended up having a tough season.

They were the 10th seed in the Western Conference with a 39-43 record and lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in tournament.

Via Bleacher Report: “Mavs fall short of playoffs after an NBA Finals run”

In addition to trading away Luka Doncic, the Mavs also dealt with injuries to Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis and others.

It’s fair to say that they could have made another run if they had been healthy.

However, the Mavs are now in a totally different place than they were just one year ago.

Via StatMuse: “Dallas Mavericks in the Nico-era.

2025: Missed playoffs
2024: NBA Finals
2023: Missed playoffs
2022: Conference Finals

Roller coaster.”

As for Tatum and the Celtics, they still have an excellent chance to return to the Finals.

They finished the regular season as the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a 61-21 record.

The Celtics are currently down 2-1 in their second-round playoff series with the New York Knicks.

Game 4 will be on Monday night.

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