Here are five reasons why the Boston Celtics and Jayson Tatum might be the favorites to win the NBA championship in 2024.

Here are five reasons why the Boston Celtics and Jayson Tatum might be the favorites to win the NBA championship in 2024.

Earlier this week, the Boston Celtics made a major investment in the 2023–24 NBA season when they purchased standout guard Jrue Holiday from Portland. Boston changed the Eastern Conference’s and possibly the league’s equilibrium by doing this. As of right now, the Celtics are possibly the favorites to win the NBA title in 2024. They still won’t have an easy ride, though, as a few other strong contenders, including Milwaukee and Phoenix, also made huge offseason acquisitions. The Denver Nuggets, the reigning champions, kept the majority of their 2023 championship team.After the Holiday deal, the Celtics should be considered the new favorites to win the championship for the following reasons:

Even after leading the Boston Celtics to many deep playoff trips, players Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown might not be at the top of their game just yet. Tatum won’t turn 26 until March, thus he is still only 25 years old. Brown will celebrate his 27th birthday later this month. NBA players usually begin to enter their prime at the end of their 20s.Thus, Tatum and Brown, who together scored 56.7 points per game as Boston’s one-two punch last season, have the potential to perform even better in 2024.

Following their trade of guard Marcus Smart to Memphis earlier in the offseason, the Celtics were not awarded the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year. By adding big man Kristaps Porzingis from Washington, Boston strengthened its rim protection while seemingly weakening its perimeter defense in the three-team trade. But since acquiring Jrue Holiday from Portland, the Celtics have added a perimeter defender who is perhaps even better than Smart. In the meanwhile, the Celtics retained experienced big man Al Horford and two-way guard Derrick White.

With a solid group of defenders surrounding Tatum and Brown going into 2024, the Celtics might have the top defense in the NBA. This comes after Boston’s 110.6 team defensive rating from the previous season placed them second.

The Boston Celtics have a wealth of playoff experience, which is always one of the most important aspects in deciding a team’s success. Tatum, Brown, Holiday, Horford, Porzingis, and White—the key six players of Boston—have a combined 499 postseason games under their belts.Holiday, who won the 2021 championship with Milwaukee, gives the team some much-needed championship experience. When the playoffs get around, the Celtics ought to be more than prepared to contend.