The Sportsletter - Banner 18 🍀

BY JEFF YODER

JUNE 18, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Good Morning 🍀

It’s time for celebration #18 in Boston. The Celtics are officially the winningest franchise in NBA history (again). From superstar teamwork to roster-building genius, we’ll take a few minutes to celebrate every storyline and historical stat from the Celtics' dominant playoff run.

⚠️ Don't blink. The Stanley Cup Finals are back tonight for Game 5 (8:00 pm ET, ABC). Could we see back-to-back championship moments?

Letter Rip!

NBA FINALS 🏆

Mean Green No. 18 🍀

Photo: Adam Glanzman / Getty Images

Celtics Win 2024 NBA Finals & Capture Record-Setting 18th Championship — Jaylen Brown Wins Finals MVP

Print it. Hang it. Relish it. Banner #18 is one for the record books. The Celtics beat the Mavs (106-88) to win the 2024 NBA Finals Monday night in Boston behind a huge Game 5 performance from Jayson Tatum (31 pts, 8 reb, 11 ast) and a first-half blitz that left no doubt. The wire-to-wire win ended a 16-year title drought in Boston, and it could be the first of many in this era of Celtics basketball. Luka Doncic (28 pts, 12 rebs, 5 asts) gave it his all, but this was Boston’s night. With the game nearly in hand in the middle of the 4th, Tatum scored nine points in a three-minute run to effectively stamp the banner — Boston’s 18th — and reclaim the title of "winningest franchise in NBA history."

🏆 Most Titles in NBA History

Celtics (18)

Lakers (17)

Warriors (7)

Bulls (6)

Spurs (5)

A Playoff to Remember

The Celtics went 16-3 in the postseason to win the chip. None of their four series opponents won more than one game during the run. It ranks as one of the top-10 best playoff stretches in NBA history. A handful of historic teams lost just two games while the 2001 Lakers (15-1) and 2017 Warriors (16-1) lost only once.

Round 1: Celtics Beat Heat in 5 (4-1)

Round 2: Celtics Beat Cavs in 5 (4-1)

East Finals: Celtics Sweep Pacers (4-0)

NBA Finals: Celtics Beat Mavs in 5 (4-1)

🍀 Nothing Lucky About This Roster

While Kristaps Porzingis' arrival made a huge difference on this year’s Celtics team, the addition of Jrue Holiday (via Milwaukee) gave the Boston backcourt an unstoppable trio. Tatum and Jaylen Brown shared the hot hand throughout the year, but Holiday's defensive grit gave the two superstars the lock-down defender they needed. Derrick White’s playoff performances certainly helped, too. Celtics’ president of basketball ops, Brad Stevens, worked some magic to make this roster unstoppable.

Jaylen Brown Wins Finals MVP 🏆

Photo: Adam Glanzman / Getty Images

Jaylen Brown won the 2024 Finals MVP Award in one of the rare instances where the honor could’ve gone to two players. Brown had huge moments early in the series and was more productive, but Tatum finished with better numbers. There’s no Batman or Robin here — just two heroes.

The Finals MVP Debate

J. Tatum: 22.2 ppg | 7.8 reb | 7.2 ast | 38% FG

J. Brown: 20.8 ppg | 5.4 reb | 5.0 ast | 44% FG

Al Horford’s Hard-Earned Hardware

Al Horford, 38, played in 186 playoff games before finally winning a championship. That’s the most postseason games without a title in NBA history, but it’s finally over. He was the first to raise the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Joe Mazzulla’s Unlikely Ride

The Celtics’ 35-year-old head coach joined the team as an assistant in 2019. Three years later, following Ime Udoka’s abrupt exit, Mazzulla inherited one of the most talented rosters as an interim coach (2022-23 season). He earned the full-time nod last summer as the youngest coach in the league. And in Year 1, he helped deliver Boston’s first title since 2008. *Check Tomorrow’s Edition for The Underdog on Joe Mazzulla.

The Names Are Legendary & Many: Bob Cousy. Bill Russell. Sam Jones. Kevin McHale. Robert Parish. JoJo White. John Havlicek. Dave Cowens. Danny Ainge. Larry Bird. Paul Pierce. That’s a list (and I'm probably forgetting some). At 26 and 27 years old, Tatum and Brown are just getting started. Congrats to Boston on Banner #18!

Watch: Celtics Go Wire-to-Wire in Game 5 (106-88) to Win 2024 NBA Finals

Read More

WSJ: The Celtics Won the NBA Title. Their MVP Was Math. ($ Paywall)

Sporting News: 5 Genius Trades That Led to Boston's Championship

ESPN: Sports World Reacts to Celtics’ 2024 NBA Championship Win

The Ringer: The Celtics Aren’t Just NBA Champions. They’re One of the Most Dominant Teams Ever.

Yahoo! Sports: Celtics Dominate Mavericks in Game 5 to Secure Franchise’s 18th NBA Championship

MLB

The Series to Determine No. 1

Illustration: Jeff Yoder -- Photo: Adam Hunger / Getty Images

Yankees & Orioles Set for AL Clash to Determine No. 1 Spot While NL Parity Reaches All-Time High

The last week in baseball has shifted the tides. The NL’s second tier is rising into a blended, impossible-to-predict hierarchy as the Mets, Nationals, and Cardinals are riding hot streaks. Three AL teams are surging — Mariners, Orioles, and Twins — while the Dodgers might be ready for a mid-summer slide. The Orioles and Yankees are about to square off this week for a series that could yield a new No. 1. We’ll do our best, and you can let us know where we went wrong.

Latest Trends

Injury Set-Backs: Dodgers & Braves

AL Rising: Mariners (↑2), Twins (↑2), Orioles (↑2)

NL Rising: Mets (↑7), Nationals (↑7) & Cardinals (↑6)

MLB Power Rankings

1. Yankees (50-24) —

2. Orioles (47-24) ↑2

3. Phillies (48-24) ↓1

4. Dodgers (45-29) ↓1

5. Guardians (44-25) —

6. Mariners (43-31) ↑2

7. Brewers (42-30) —

8. Twins (40-32) ↑2

9. Royals (41-32) ↓1

10. Red Sox (38-35) ↑1

Teams 11-20: 11. Braves (39-31), 12. Blue Jays (35-37), 13. Padres (37-39), 14. Giants (36-37), 15. Cardinals (36-35), 16. Nationals (35-36), 17. Diamondbacks (35-37), 18. Mets (34-37), 19. Reds (34-38), 20. Pirates (35-37)

Teams 21-30: 21. Rangers (33-39), 22. Astros (33-39), 23. Cubs (34-39), 24. Tigers (34-38), 25. Rays (34-38), 26. Angels (29-43), 27. Rockies (25-47), 28. Athletics (26-48), 29. Marlins (23-49), 30. White Sox (19-54)

B/R: MLB Power Rankings: Orioles & Yankees Set to Battle for No. 1; Mariners Join the Top-5

HIGHLIGHTS 🎥

⚾️ MLB

Mets Clobber Rangers (14-2)

New York Wins 6th Straight Game

Phillies Smash Padres (9-2)

Kyle Schwarber Hits 2 HRs

Red Sox Roll Blue Jays (7-3)

Tyler O’Neill (2 HRs), Boston Wins 3rd Straight

Full MLB Scoreboard

⚽️ Soccer (Euro 2024)

🇸🇰 Slovakia def. 🇧🇪 Belgium (1-0)

🇫🇷 France def. 🇦🇹 Austria (1-0)

Kylian Mbappe Suffers Broken Nose

⚾️ College World Series

Texas A&M def. Kentucky (5-1)

Florida def. NC State (5-4)

(Coverage Coming This Week)

🏊 Swimming (U.S. Olympic Trials)

Full Updated Results

Trials Run Through June 23 (Coverage Coming)

🏀 WNBA

Lynx def. Wings (90-78)

Minnesota Wins 4th Straight Game

STORYLINES

⛳️ Team USA's Olympic Golf Squad

Team USA’s Olympic Golf roster was announced yesterday, and it didn’t include U.S. Open-winner Bryson DeChambeau. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa will represent the U.S. in Paris. (Sporting News)

⚾️ Early MLB All-Star Voting

MLB released the first returns from the fan ballots for the 2024 All-Star Game this week. Aaron Judge (NYY), Juan Soto (NYY), and Bryce Harper (PHI) lead the totals. Phase 1 of the voting runs through June 27. (Bleacher Report)

⚽️ Euros Off to High-Scoring Start

Best Euros ever? It took less than 10 minutes into the opening game of Euro 2024 for the first goal to be scored — and it hasn’t slowed down. The first eight matches featured a first-half goal, and a total of 27 through 10 matches. (FOX Sports)

NEWS 📰

🏀 Klay Thompson Unfollows Golden State Warriors on Social Media (CBS Sports)

🏈 Former Football Coach Les Miles Sues LSU After Being Ineligible for CFB Hall of Fame Due to Vacated Wins (B/R)

🏈 NFL In-Season ‘Hard Knocks’ Will Feature Entire AFC North Division (SI)

🥊 Israel Adesanya to Return vs. Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 (ESPN)

🏀 Angel Reese Asked About Foul on Caitlin Clark: “Some People Got a Special Whistle’ (Yahoo! Sports)

🏈 Chargers Rookie WR Ladd McConkey Signs Historic Rookie Contract After Impressive Camp (CBS Sports)

⚽️ France’s Kylian Mbappe Breaks Nose in Euro Opener, Evaluating Mask Options for Next Match (FOX Sports)

⛳️ Rory McIlroy Breaks Silence After Blowing Late Lead at U.S. Open (Sporting News)

SCHEDULE 🗓️

Today's Must-Watch List

🏒 Stanley Cup Finals