Earlier this month, Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy expressed his desire to watch the C's bring home Banner 18 before he passes away.
"I'm 95 [expletive] years old with one foot in the grave and I can barely move," Cousy told Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe. "I know I'm in overtime. So everything in your life becomes more meaningful. And one of the last things I want to be able to see is for the Celtics to hang up banner No. 18."
The Celtics granted Cousy's wish, defeating the Dallas Mavericks in five games to snap their 16-year championship drought.
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Jaylen Brown earned NBA Finals MVP honors while Jayson Tatum finished the series with a brilliant 31-point, 11-assist performance. The Celtics' star duo finally got over the hump after several deep postseason runs that ended in disappointment, and with the team built for sustained success, this could be just the beginning of a dynastic run.
Cousy joined Chris Forsberg on a brand new episode of the Celtics Talk Podcast and heaped praise on the Jays' evolution as players.
🔊 Celtics Talk: Cousy: Celtics' Banner 18 made an old man from "Woo-sta" very happy | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
"Tatum brings it to the basket and finishes as well as anybody 6-7 I've seen, and he's got an excellent shooting touch," Cousy said. "If we want to look for negatives, I would say occasionally I'm not a fan of the 3-point shot as the first option. I'm absolutely in favor of using it as a weapon, because it's an effective one and the Celtics do it probably as well as any team in the league, and Tatum as well as any 6-7. That little stepback he has, when it's on, it's great. But I'm saying just don't use it as your first option."
"He touches every offensive base to be successful, and I think he does it as well as anyone, certainly his size. ... Tatum, I don't think has any weaknesses."
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Cousy raved about Brown's all-around improvement.
"I think this year, in my judgment, Jaylen has made giant strides in every part of the game," he said. "Defensively, his passing, he's turning it over less. ... He's hit some key shots. Remember that game in the playoffs (Game 3 against Indiana)? Absolutely key, and that was under pressure.
"So, he doesn't quite have the weapons that Tatum has, but boy, he's not far behind. And to have those two both as young players -- 26, 27 -- for the next few years is good news for the Celtics. They could extend this championship run for a few years."
Also in the episode:
- Cousy discusses his enjoyment getting to watch this title run at 95 years old
- Cousy explains why he was confident predicting before the series that the Celtics would win in 4 or 5 games
- Cousy breaks down what makes Derrick White and Jrue Holiday so good and the "X factors" in Boston’s title run.