ESPN Makes Shocking Celtics-Mavericks NBA Finals Prediction

The Boston Celtics won more games than any other team in basketball this season, entering the 2024 NBA Finals with an overall record of 76-20.

ESPN must not have been made aware.

The “Worldwide Leader in Sports” put together a predictions article, with the Dallas Mavericks surprisingly having a slight edge in the “expert” opinions for who will walk away with the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Kendra Andrews, Jerry Bembry, Israel Gutierrez, Chris Herring, Bobby Marks, Dave McMenamin and Omar Raja have the Mavs winning in six games, with Tim Legler and Ohm Youngmisuk thinking they’ll get it done in seven.

Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Andrew Lopez, Zach Lowe, Kevin Pelton, Ramona Shelburne, André Snellings and Marc J. Spears have the C’s winning in six or seven.

Luka Doncic was the most popular NBA Finals MVP pick for the Mavericks, receiving seven total votes. Kyrie Irving received two of his own. Jayson Tatum, however, received the most total votes with eight. If you’re good at math, you’ll have noticed that means Jaylen Brown — and all other Celtics, for that matter — didn’t receive any.

If you’re looking for something less ludicrous, check out NESN’s predictions here. It should give you a better idea of what is more likely to happen when the Celtics and Mavericks kick things off at TD Garden on Thursday.