5 Players Who Can Benefit Most From Winning The NBA Finals

The 2024 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks is sure to be one of the more exciting championship series in recent memory, complete with compelling storylines, great basketball, and several future Hall of Fame players.

Among the best narratives surrounding this matchup include Kristaps Porziņģis playing his former team after an unsuccessful tenure in Dallas, Kyrie Irving doing the same against Boston, and Jayson Tatum silencing his doubters with his first ring.

However, the most intriguing storyline to follow is the many future legends participating in this series, and what a championship could do for their legacies. By my count, there are eight players and two coaches who would desperately love to win this title because of how much it would change the perception surrounding their career.

Here are the top five players who could benefit most from the 2024 NBA Finals.

1 Luka Dončić

Already an all-time great player, Dončić could elevate his legacy a win

For basketball fans, these playoffs have been a reintroduction to the showstopping greatness of Luka Dončić after spending a year outside the NBA spotlight because of missing the postseason entirely in 2023. For a player as special as Dončić, it was stunning to see his team fail to that degree, but he returned with a vengeance.

Watching Dončić dominate the playoff stage for the fourth straight time and average nearly a 30-point triple-double to take down three 51-plus win teams to lift Dallas into the NBA Finals has reminded everyone that he is already an all-time legendary player. Dončić has checked three of the major boxes that the game’s greatest players must: otherworldly statistical dominance, production in big games, and poise under pressure in the clutch.

The last feat he must accomplish is to capture his first championship at the young age of 25. His potential is limitless, as he should have many, many more chances to win titles, but securing this one against a dominant Celtics squad will boost him into a new category that few active players have reached.

If Dončić wants to go down as one of the five to ten greatest players to ever lace them up, he would do well to win this series. These opportunities don’t always come around again, regardless of how special a player is.

2 Jayson Tatum

With a title under his belt, Tatum reverses all the narratives

Tatum has been one of the most criticized players in the league since he entered the NBA in 2017, despite being an excellent player from the very first time he stepped on the floor. He is the league’s most durable superstar, has never missed a playoff game, has won more postseason games than anyone, and has handled his business the right way every step of the way.

It is unclear why Tatum has been so heavily scrutinized, especially with his dependability through his age-26 season. It likely has to do with a few factors: his inability to get the Celtics over the hump despite so many deep playoff runs, general disdain towards Boston sports teams, or the frustrating inconsistencies in his game at times.

With all that said, if Tatum delivers a championship to Boston by beating the Mavericks, he can completely flip the sentiment regarding his career. Not only that, but he suddenly becomes one of the greatest active players at just 26 years old, with a resume that only legends have reached through seven seasons.

Furthermore, if Tatum can battle Dončić to a draw or even outplay him on the way to a Boston victory, he also will start conversations about his place as a top-three player in the league. For a player as often-maligned as Tatum has been recently, he would benefit greatly from winning the 2024 championship.

3 Kyrie Irving

With his second title, Irving cements himself as one of the greatest “Robins”

Irving is best-known for his one-of-a-kind skill, an artistry of basketball that no one else has ever, or will ever come close to replicating. His combination of handles, finishing at the rim, and creative shotmaking will inspire players for generations to come, and Irving’s place in basketball history is cemented regardless of how his career finishes.

However, an underrated piece of these Finals is Irving’s return to contributing to winning basketball at the highest level after a seven-year hiatus filled with injuries, off-court drama, and disappointing playoff exits. Watching Irving’s magnificence on display as he helps a future legend in Dončić reach the pinnacle is reminiscent of his days as a Cleveland Cavalier competing for titles with LeBron James.

*List gives statistics from Kyrie’s years next to James and Dončić

This playoff run serves as a reminder of Kyrie’s excellence as a number two option next to a superior player, which isn’t a role every star can thrive in. Irving’s transcendent offensive skill as an on-ball scoring threat is well-utilized, not only to give Dončić or James a rest, but also as an off-ball player, where he sneakily excels.

Irving is one of the best spot-up shooters and closeout attackers in basketball, and he is uniquely willing to defer to a better player despite his incredible talent. His selflessness has been lauded throughout this playoff run, but winning this championship puts him into a different tier of Robins in NBA history and completes one of the coolest turnarounds for a player that the NBA has seen.

4 Jaylen Brown

After facing heavy scrutiny in 2023, the ECF MVP has improved his game significantly

When the Miami Heat shockingly upset the Celtics in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, Jaylen Brown received much of the blame for the loss after he had a terrible series. Jokes were made constantly about his weak left-hand, and he wasn’t able to contribute as a second option nearly well enough for Boston to beat an inferior team.

After Brown signed a $304M supermax extension in the off-season, analysts questioned Boston’s ability to win a championship with a player like Brown making $60M a year. He seemingly took these insults to heart, and came back a completely different player in 2024. His left hand even became an area of strength in his scoring game.

Brown has improved in nearly every facet of the game this season and has carried it into the playoff run. He’s realized his defensive potential, is driving to the rim with more ferocity than ever before, and is protecting the ball with better decision-making than he has in the past.

All of these improvements allowed Brown to be arguably the best Celtic in their run through the East, culminating in an Eastern Conference Finals MVP award. If he can play well as a top scoring option for Boston and helps them secure their first championship together, suddenly people will wonder whether Brown is a top ten to fifteen player in the league. It also will make him a lock for the Hall of Fame.

5 Jrue Holiday

Holiday can lock in his Hall of Fame spot as one of the best role players ever

Jrue Holiday may already be a Hall of Famer because of his 2021 championship with the Milwaukee Bucks on top of an underrated 15-year career that still has juice left. Helping the Celtics win the 2024 Finals will make him a guarantee to join basketball royalty when he calls it a career.

Furthermore, Holiday can once again prove he is one of the best plug-and-play role players in NBA history by fitting seamlessly into this stacked Boston roster. He has been great in four different places, playing a different role in each situation and having success at each stop. As a Philadelphia 76er, New Orleans Pelican, and Milwaukee Buck, he was asked to handle more of an offensive burden as a primary ball-handler, and he acquitted himself very well.

In Boston, he has been deployed as an off-ball player that weaponizes his defensive gifts to anchor an elite Celtics defense. Holiday has shown his ability to shut down any star in the league, from shifty, quick ballhandlers to massive big men like Joel Embiid. Jrue has proven that he is arguably the best and most versatile defender in the entire league, even as he ages into his mid-thirties.

If Boston beats Dallas, Holiday’s career legacy will get a huge boost.

Honorable Mentions: Al Horford (Likely Hall of Famer with a win), Kristaps Porziņģis, and Derrick White

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