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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! |
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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.
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Jaylen Brown Wins Finals MVP 🏆 |
Photo: Adam Glanzman / Getty Images |
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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) Read More CBS Sports: MLB Power Rankings: Mariners Open Up Baseball’s Biggest Division Lead
B/R: MLB Power Rankings: Orioles & Yankees Set to Battle for No. 1; Mariners Join the Top-5 |
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⛳️ 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) |
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🏒 Stanley Cup Finals Gm 4: Oilers at Panthers (8:00 pm ET, ABC) FLA Leads Series (3-1) ⚽️ Euro 2024 🇹🇷 Turkey vs. 🇬🇪 Georgia (Noon ET, Fubo)
🇵🇹 Portugal vs. 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (3:00 pm ET, FOX) *Streaming on FOX (US), TSN (Canada), BBC (UK)
⚾️ College Baseball World Series Florida State vs. N. Carolina (2:00 pm ET, ESPN) Florida vs. Kentucky (7:00 pm ET, ESPN) ⚾️ MLB Padres at Phillies (6:40 pm ET, MLBTV)
Mariners at Guardians (6:40 pm ET, MLBTV) Orioles at Yankees (7:05 pm ET, TBS) Red Sox at Blue Jays (7:07 pm ET, NESN)
🏀 WNBA Sparks at Sun (7:00 pm ET, NBATV) Liberty at Mercury (10:00 pm ET, CBS) |
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