The 2024 NBA Finals matchup between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks features plenty of star power.
It includes two first-team All-NBA players in Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Mavs guard Luka Doncic. Celtics guard Jaylen Brown and Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving are All-NBA caliber players, too. Both teams have surrounded their stars with a strong supporting cast.
That said, the Celtics are the favorites to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy, and that's far from a surprise.
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They had the best record in the league at 64-18 during the regular season -- seven wins better than any other team -- and they cruised through the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 12-2 record. The C's will have homecourt advantage in the Finals, but they've also won eight straight road playoff games.
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Doncic understands the challenge that awaits Dallas in the Finals.
"I mean, they're the best team in the NBA," Doncic said in his press conference Thursday after eliminating the Minnesota Timberwolves from the Western Conference Finals.
"They had by far the best record and they have some incredible weapons on offense and defense. We're gonna have to play really hard and amazing basketball to beat them."
Doncic averaged 35 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists per game in two meetings against the Celtics during the regular season, but the C's won both fairly easily -- a 119-110 win on Jan. 22 in Dallas and a 138-110 victory on March 1 in Boston.
Doncic and Irving will likely score between 50-65 points per game combined in this upcoming series. The real question mark for the Mavericks is whether their role players can step up and be a consistent threat offensively.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals is set for Thursday, June 6 at TD Garden. NBC Sports Boston will have pregame, halftime and postgame coverage of every Finals game.