3 Reasons Why Mavericks Will Win NBA Championship

The newly-crowned Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks have their first crack at the NBA championship since 2011, and while they're entering the Finals as a betting underdog against the Boston Celtics, there remains enough reason to believe Dallas will soon hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy for the second time in franchise history.

The Mavericks knocked off the Los Angeles Clippers, No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves to reach the Finals, serving as an underdog in each of the first three rounds.

Here are three reasons why Dallas will defeat Boston and capture the title to conclude the 2024 season.

1. Luka Doncic Is The Best Player In The Finals

More often than not, when your team is in possession of the most talented player in a series, your chances of winning a title are extremely high - or at least they should be. During this run of five unique champions in five years, which will soon be six, the winning side has undoubtedly had the best player, whether it be Nikola Jokic (2023), Stephen Curry (2022), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2021), LeBron James (2020), or Kawhi Leonard (2019).

As top-heavy as the Celtics are with two established superstars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, two former All-Stars in Jrue Holiday and a soon-to-be returning Kristaps Porzingis, and All-Defensive Second Team guard Derrick White, Luka Doncic would still be considered better than all of those names. As prolific as he was prior to this postseason, the 25-year-old Slovenian has propelled his game to even greater heights, competing with a well-warranted swagger and confidence while viciously chastising those who dared to question his dominance. Lest we forget that no player before Doncic ever averaged at least 33 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists for a season.

Doncic is the first player in league history to ever lead the Association in total playoff points, rebounds, and assists heading into a Finals. As the cherry on top, he's also the leader in 3-pointers made, free-throws made, and steals. Doncic also joins Jokic, James, and Larry Bird as the only players to accumulate at least 450 points, 150 rebounds, and 150 assists in a single postseason, and he still has at least four more games to add to those tallies.

Minnesota had all of the assets on the perimeter defensively to make life miserable for Doncic, yet none of them could. Even with the likes of Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns protecting the paint area as the final lines of defense, Doncic never shied away from strolling his way toward the basket as if no one stood across from him, tossing up lobs or floaters for easy looks when others would have chosen a drastically different approach.

This entire run feels like the official coronation of Doncic as the best player on the planet. Falling short in his bid to become a champion would certainly change such a perspective, mind you. But in a war, when all seems lost, you take out your biggest gun, and you blow them all away. Doncic is the weapon of choice, capable of beautiful annihilation the likes of which we have never seen before.

2. The Boston Celtics Haven't Been truly Tested

Teams trudge through an 82-game slate to earn seeding and position themselves for the smoothest route possible, so anyone criticizing the Celtics' anemic path to the Finals would happily step into their shoes and accept those circumstances.

Boston's first-round opponent in the Miami Heat didn't have Terry Rozier or Jimmy Butler, with the latter being one of the main reasons why the Celtics got ousted in last year's conference finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference semifinals were without Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, and reserve Caris LeVert, and then the Indiana Pacers last round had Tyrese Haliburton sit out the last two games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Injuries occur, and all a team can do is play what's in front of them, but there's no denying Boston was fortunate with some of those absences.

Now if you asked the Mavericks' players whether they would have preferred such a journey, surely a majority would have traded places in a heartbeat. At the end of the day, though, Dallas' path may lead to greater rewards in this series. They've had to overcome adversity, which isn't to suggest the Celtics haven't, but even with the rare loss or tight score sprinkled throughout, as soon as the playoffs commenced, everyone knew Boston would be where it currently is.

The Celtics have been favored in every single playoff game and by no worse than seven points. The Mavericks, on the other hand, have been underdogs on six different occasions, going 5-1 SU and ATS. When you finish the regular season with the best overall record, chances are you're going to be the betting favorite more often than not, even if opposing stars are suiting up and raring to go.

For what it's worth, as well, Dallas is the first team since the 2010 Los Angeles Lakers to beat three 50-plus win teams en route to the Finals.

Everything Boston has faced up until this point will pale in comparison to the challenge forthcoming courtesy of the Mavericks. In a perfect world, you wouldn't wait until the Finals to get pushed to your limits for some rough-and-tumble basketball, but that was always beyond the control of the Celtics. It may just be to their detriment. Dallas is peaking at the right time, so the mental and emotional shift that comes with such an upgrade in competition could prove to be more than Boston bargained for.

3. The Dallas Mavericks aren't Just A Two-Man Show

All narratives involving the Mavericks start and end with the tandem of Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who former head coach and current analyst Stan Van Gundy so eloquently dubbed the best offensive backcourt in the history of the NBA. If Dallas prevails, they'll rightfully garner much of the credit, having just scored or assisted on 76 percent of all of the points scored against Minnesota. But to ignore the contributions of some of the other depth pieces on Dallas would be doing wrong by the team, because the Mavericks aren't four victories away from being crowned without them.

Rookie Dereck Lively II didn't miss one of his 16-shot attempts versus the Timberwolves, becoming the first player to ever convert 100 percent from the field on at least 15 shots in a playoff series. His length and size were invaluable against the Timberwolves' pair of 7-footers, because no one else on the Mavericks had the wingspan, shot-blocking tendencies, and mobility around the hoop quite like Lively II, and that's with three other guys on the roster standing at 6-foot-10.

One of those players is Daniel Gafford, who joined Dallas at the trade deadline from the Washington Wizards and shot 78 percent in 29 appearances during the regular season and now 61.4 percent in the playoffs. The front office shored up the depth by acquiring forgotten talent toiling away on bottom-dwelling teams, and that includes forward P.J. Washington, who was lost to oblivion with the Charlotte Hornets, brought over to Dallas, and is now the third-best scorer for a finalist. Derrick Jones Jr. also bounced around the league before finding a home in the Lone Star state, serving as a perfect complimentary 3-and-D wing who doesn't need the rock in his hand to be effective.

Max Kleber just returned from injury, veteran Tim Hardaway Jr. could go off for 20-plus on any given night, and Josh Green and Jaden Hardy have provided subtle yet important offensive production for the second unit. Simply put, the case being made here is that the Mavericks are more of a sum of their parts than some may realize, with Doncic and Irving being the catalysts of the offense who can put the rest of the team in the best position possible to score.

None of the aforementioned players would be taken in a pick'em over any of the Celtics' Monstar-esque starting five, but they all have their roles and serve them well. There's going to be a game or two where one of those names will have the spotlight thrust upon them, and when that moment comes, no one will or should act surprised.