Banner no. 18: Celtics win 2024 NBA Finals over Mavericks 

18. That is the magic number for the Boston Celtics.& & The organization now hosts 18 championship banners in TD Garden in Boston, the most in NBA history, thanks to their Game 5 106-88 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on June 17.& Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla appeared to be in awe following the win. His “But first … let me thank God” t-shirt seemed to foreshadow his thankfulness all things considered.& “Something that has really been going through my mind is that you can’t lose sight of the people who came before us,” Mazzulla said. “I want to make sure that has worked for the Celtics, played for the Celtics that didn’t win knows that their work and what they have done hasn’t gone unnoticed.” Many took Mazzulla’s response as a ‘thank you’ to former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, now the head coach of the Houston Rockets, and former Celtics point guard Marcus Smart who spent nine seasons with the organization. Udoka also led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in 2022.& Mazzulla was named the interim coach later that summer following a scandal involving Udoka and another staff member. Smart was traded almost one year ago on...