Udonis Haslem’s pre-NBA Finals prediction has made the Miami Heat legend take a major U-turn. Notably, Stephen A. Smith and Haslem sided with the Dallas Mavericks as the most likely to secure the championship. But a humbling 4-1 loss has not only made Haslem reconsider his stance but also explained why Jayson Tatum and Co. emerged victorious.

Appearing on the Stephen A. Smith Show, Haslem mentioned he knew Boston was the better team, but he thought Dallas would have an edge in this series. The ex-Heat star further highlighted the Boston Celtics as the best team in the NBA all year. And although he picked the Mavs as his favorites, he has now stated he is not surprised by the Celtics’ win.

As for the core reason behind the win, the 3x NBA champion believes it’s the habits that helped. He highlighted the Celtics have been through the pain, sleepless nights, and losses. “They’ve been thrown away and kicked around. So I should have known that Boston was gonna have the habits to win the championship,” Udonis Haslem said on The Stephen A. Smith Show. Further decoding Jayson Tatum and Co.’s gameplay, Haslem credited Boston for sticking to their game plan.

“They attacked Luka every which way and turned him every which way but loose. They consistently attack Luka, they consistently attack Kyrie, which is how Boston plays the game of basketball,” UD added. He pointed out the Celtics’ game is to set screens with the guards to get matchups where they can attack the guards and go for 3-point shooting.

It is worth mentioning the majority opinions may now have turned in the Celtics’ favor, but Tatum and his teammates faced criticism for the past many years. The team had won no championship after 2008, reaching the Finals on just two occasions. Amid all of this, the team received criticism from fans and experts alike. But now the tables have turned.

Udonis Haslem was not the only one who bet against Boston

Notably, critics never went easy on Tatum despite his achievements at a young age. The argument against the 26-year-old was that he never delivered when the team needed him to in the postseason. But claiming the 2024 title with 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game, Tatum has now responded to all the criticism.

“We have a resilient group… We’ve been through a lot as a team over the last couple years – over my seven years. What they gonna say now?” he said, as per an article by Fox News. Meanwhile, as stated above, Brissett mocked Haslem and Smith for siding with the Mavs ahead of the Finals.

He re-shared First Take’s post on X where Haslem had stated he got Dallas winning as he believed Mavs to have more depth. Meanwhile, Smith had stated, “I got the Mavs in 6 in Dallas… I can’t see anybody going to Game 7 in Boston.” Responding through his post, Brissett wrote, “Game 6 soon gotta lock in…” This was a sarcastic take on Smith’s comment and the fact that the Celtics won the series in Game 5. With this, the franchise has now surpassed the LA Lakers, becoming the first team to have 18 NBA championships.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.