“Please Pray”: Outrage Among Fans Who, Like Joel Embiid, Are Pained By Boston Celtics’ NBA Championship

The Celtics have done it! After 16 years, the 18th banner is now hanging high, with the Boston crowd gleaming with pride. The incredible performances by the Jays, a bloodbath by Derrick White, and Kristaps pulling it together, with Joe Mazulla coming on the court to guide his shining stars. It was truly their moment. From alley-oops to rebounds to assists, everything they did tonight was magical enough to lead them to this moment, where they’re holding the Larry O’Brien as deserving winners. The final score was 106-88.

While at the half-time buzzer, we saw Pritchard pulling in a half-court shot, Derrick White lost his tooth on the court. And then, by the third quarter, people knew what was going to come next – a bizarre parade of overly enthusiastic Boston fans that would swarm the Dallas fans in a figurative stampede. People knew no more magic was going to come out of a disappointed Luka Magic, and Kyrie, being Kyrie, had probably already lost the game before it even began.

A wave of emotions engulfed TD Garden during and after the game. Some of these emotions are very well captured as the Celtics hoist the Larry O’Brien tonight.

Fans react as the Boston Celtics win the 2024 NBA Championship

If there was ever a time for NBA enthusiasts to admit just how much they dislike the rival teams, then the NBA Finals provide the perfect opportunity. The same was seen after one fan took to the comments section to state, “There are very few things I hate more than I hate the Celtics. Please pray for me”. If a 4-1 record wouldn’t waver this fan’s opinion, then it means that his mind is fixated on not appreciating the Boston team.

Despite the fact that the Boston Celtics have had more success than any franchise in the history of the NBA (18 championship wins after tonight), they are not everyone’s favorite. A major blame for this cannot be solely put on the players alone, since many have stated their hatred for the franchise on the fans. Even Jaylen Brown, the 2024 Finals MVP, stated last year “I definitely think there’s a group or an amount within the Celtic nation that is extremely toxic and does not want to see athletes use their platform, or they just want you to play basketball and entertain and go home.”

Furthermore, with major tensions existing between Dallas Mavericks shooting guard Kyrie Irving and Celtics fans, it would make sense for Mavericks fans to stick to supporting their team.

Lakers Nation analyst Sean Davis was amongst the first people to make his voice heard before the conclusion of the game. Having already predicted a potential Celtics win, he took to his X account to highlight that other people would not want to see Jayson Tatum win the title of Final MVP right. While he wouldn’t mind seeing Jrue Holiday or Jaylen Brown receive the honor, it wouldn’t feel right to him to “dismiss Tatum” completely. To this, one fan replied, “The Celtics are winning I’m outraged about every aspect of it tbh”.

The NBA fan seems to be currently carrying the same resentment towards the Celtics as does Philadelphia 76ers legend Joel Embiid. During Game 4, the player sat down with some analysts from ESPN and made his dislike for the franchise known. After all, the Boston team is the very same one against whom the player and his team have lost two Conference Semifinals, one in 2018 and another in 2023. According to Statmuse, the 76ers currently occupy a 3-7 win record against the Celtics.

One individual took his anger out on the Boston Celtics fans for being disrespectful towards Kyrie Irving. Along with calling them a “disgrace”, he stated that the years-long resentment towards the player is just “the stupidest sh*t ever”.

The enmity between Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics has been public knowledge for over a decade now. It all started when he left the franchise in 2019 and joined the Brooklyn Nets. After having devoted two seasons to the Celtics, fans were unhappy that Irving did not choose to stay loyal. The first signs of this hostility were seen in 2021 when the Boston crowd united in booing Kyrie Irving whenever the ball would come into his possession during a game. A year later, Irving would briefly point a middle finger at the crowd over at TD Garden after shooting a two-pointer. He would then top that by stomping the Celtics logo during a later game.

Another social media user simply wrote, “I put a curse on you @celtics”

Well, since the franchise has now won, the ‘curse’ does not seem to have been that effective. However, it may or may not come into effect during the 2024-25 season.

Overall, fans on social media were not happy that the Dallas Mavericks were not getting their chance to shine.

Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about WNBA stars, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.