At the end of this thriller, which had put a massive strain on everyone involved, Daniel Theis held a sparkling trophy in his hands in the dressing room. The German basketball player of the Boston Celtics is not yet NBA champion, the trophy was for the title of the best club in the east of the league. So a small championship, and even if Theis, 30, only cheered on as a substitute on the bench this time, he was happy like someone who is right in the middle.
“What a team,” the center player commented on his picture on Twitter, “and now off to the final.” For German observers, the regulations of the US professional league are sometimes not easy to understand, so let me be clear: After winning the semifinals in game seven against Miami (100:96), Theis actually made it into the final of the NBA. There, for the first time since 2010, his team is dealing with the whole big thing – from Friday night onwards, the opponent in a new “Best-of-Seven” series is Golden State, the team around the throwing artists Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
With Boston, Daniel Theis now meets Golden State with Steph Curry
The fact that Boston has made it this far after a rocky start to the season is largely down to the unity and resilience of the squad: they may not be a frenzied spectacle like the Warriors, but they are a task force that knows how to get jobs done. The Celtics also proved their qualities in the decider in Miami, when they defended their lead with all their might throughout the season.
“The boys are allowed to celebrate briefly, but they also have to look ahead quickly. It would all be in vain if we failed in the final,” said coach Ime Udoka, summing up the mood. His realism is one of the trump cards in the Celtics camp, where a pack of basketball beasts has grown together in a very short time. Udoka, who won the championship as an assistant coach in San Antonio in 2014, reached the finals in his first season as head coach.
In addition to the coach, rows of other interesting figures cavort in Boston. From a local point of view, of course, Theis, who was born in Salzgitter, who will be the third German to contest a series of finals on the largest possible stage in the next two weeks. His predecessors: Detlef Schrempf (he lost in 1996 with the Seattle Supersonics to Michael Jordan’s Bulls) and Dirk Nowitzki (2006 and 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks).
Unlike Nowitzki, Theis is of course not an all-rounder who shapes his club alone. He reliably completes his tasks in an often manageable playing time, defends like a bouncer and works under the baskets for the team. The Celtics are led by Jayson Tatum, a 24-year-old winger who again had 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in game seven against the Miami Heat. Because he was the most consistent all-rounder of the series by everyone involved, he was voted the Eastern Finals Most Valuable Player.
“It was the biggest game of the season and of my career so far,” said Tatum, who had narrowly failed several times in the playoffs with the Celtics in recent years. The disappointments of the past are also a driving force for the Celtics – and there is another incentive: If they win the title, the team could again become the sole record holder of the NBA. Boston Celtics are currently tied with the Los Angeles Lakers with 17 championship trophies. Should it work out again, Daniel Theis should certainly be happy again with a pot in his hands.
