The Boston Celtics are coming off a dominant 2023-24 season. They finished the regular season at 64-18 and had the best offensive rating in NBA history. It culminated with them defeating the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the 2024 NBA Finals.
Thar gives the Celtics 18 NBA championships, one more than the Los Angeles Lakers for most in league history. They also have by far the best odds to win it all again in 2024-25. DraftKings Sportsbook lists their odds at +295 with the Oklahoma City Thunder coming in second at +800. One all-time NBA legend believes Boston won’t be able to repeat next season though.
Shaquille O’Neal Believes The Celtics Won’t Repeat
Shaq Was Part Of The NBA’s Last Three-Peat
When it comes to most unstoppable duos, the combo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant should be near (or at) the top of every list. They helped lead the Lakers to a three-peat from 2000 to 2002. So O’Neal clearly knows something about being a repeat champion. It was last done in the NBA during the days of Kevin Durant on the Golden State Warriors when they won it all in both 2017 and 2018. In the six seasons since six different teams have held up the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
O’Neal mentioned on his podcast that he would bet on the Western Conference to win the 2025 NBA Finals and explained why he believes the Celtics won’t repeat.
“Boston had it easy. It’s not their fault they won… Now, they win next year, with all these teams healthy, got to give them their respect.”
-Shaq on why he doesn’t think Boston can go back-to-back. 🏆
Sign up at https://t.co/F4hGpNAg6P #DKpartner pic.twitter.com/n4phWaf1dE
— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) July 12, 2024
He shares a narrative that has been spoken on by many that Boston had an easy road to reaching the NBA Finals. They played the Miami Heat in the opening round without Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier. Their next opponent was the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jarrett Allen missed the whole series, and Donovan Mitchell was out for two games. Their Eastern Conference Finals opponent was the Indiana Pacers. Three of the four games went down to the wire, but Tyrese Halliburton missed two of them, and the Celtics advanced via a sweep.
That doesn’t even bring up that the Milwaukee Bucks were without Giannis Antetokounmpo for their opening-round series loss against the Pacers. The New York Knicks had players such as Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, and Bojan Bogdanovic missing playoff games. So that led many to point out that they believed the Celtics road to the finals was a cakewalk (they fail to mention that Boston was often without Kristaps Porzingis as well).
Should Boston Be The Favorite?
Often, we see championship teams lose a core piece or two from their unit the following season. That isn’t the case for the Celtics. Their top eight rotation pieces from last season will still be on the team in 2024-25. Even players deeper in the rotation such as Xavier Tillman Sr. and Luke Kornet were re-signed.
Yes, teams in the Eastern Conference have improved. The 76ers added Paul George. The Knicks traded for Mikal Bridges. The Magic signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The continuity that Boston has though can’t be undervalued. Ultimately repeating in any sport is never easy, but the Celtics look poised to at least have a decent shot of doing so next season.
