Matt Damon picks 2024 NBA champion as current favorite Boston athlete
After winning the NBA Finals this year, the Boston Celtics are heavy favorites to win the 2024-25 NBA Finals on most major sportsbooks. With many of their top players still under contract for one more year at a minimum and others like Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis under contract for more, the future looks bright in Beantown.
For Boston fans, like famed actor Matt Damon, the slew of entertaining, talented players follows a long line of legendary athletes in the state of Massachusetts.
From the dominance of Bill Russell and Bob Cousy in the 1950s and 1960s to the Larry Bird-Kevin McHale era of the 80s, the Boston Celtics have had no shortage of top-ranked players before the turn of the century. Since then, they have seen many highly entertaining elite players don the team's iconic logo.
Now, after the team's big NBA championship win to capture banner number 18, it's no wonder that Boston fans have had a tough time picking their favorite Celtics players of all time.
On First Take Monday, actor Matt Damon was asked about his favorite Celtics player. While the question was originally about all-time Celtics players, Damon narrowed it down to current players.
"I'll tell you one present day player who I absolutely love for what he does on and off the court is Jaylen Brown.
"I'm so constantly ... I just admire that guy. I can't believe at how young in age he's already, like, thinking strategically about how to use his platform to make the world a better place."
Looking at the 2024-25 NBA season ahead for the Boston Celtics
After winning the Eastern Conference in 2022 and narrowly missing out on an NBA title, the Boston Celtics secured an elusive 18th championship this season. Immediately following the win, news surfaced indicating that the franchise was up for sale.
While the news was somewhat surprising given that the ownership group led by Wyc Grousbeck had been at the helm since 2002, the future looks bright in Boston.
As previously mentioned, the Celtics will have their core roster return for the season ahead. Notably, their starting five of Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis return next year.
Moreover, the team will also have Al Horford, who started in place of Porzingis last season when he was injured, returning for one more year. At the same time, role players like Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Oshae Brissett are also slated to return next season.
With Jayson Tatum expected to get a massive contract extension before hitting free agency next summer, the Celtics have plenty of depth and firepower in their starting unit to make waves next season and in the years to come.