The Boston Celtics are your 2024 World Champions. That is, unless you ask the head coach of EuroLeague powerhouse Panathinaikos Ergin Ataman. The coach recently went on record to complain about the Celtics being so styled by themselves and the NBA, challenging Boston to back up the claim on the court vs. his ball club.
“After the Boston Celtics became the NBA champions, they tweeted, ‘World Champion Boston,'” said Ataman, referring to a popular bone to pick every year after a new NBA champ on that side of the pond. “The EuroLeague also tweeted, ‘Beat this team first,’ with our photo.”
“They see themselves very highly,” he added. “They want incredible numbers to come and play a game in Europe.”
The #Celtics are heavy favorites to repeat next year… but which team could stop them in the NBA Finals?@CAlmanza1007 of Thunder Wire joins @CelticsLab to discuss the threats of the Western Conference.
— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) July 17, 2024
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“You are not the world champion,” emphasized Ataman. “If you want to get the world champion title, come and beat us, the EuroLeague champion. If you are so confident, I say come and beat us … .”
And while it is pretty unlikely that Boston would lose even a best-of-1 matchup with Panathinaikos, Ataman does have a point — at least about the billing of “world champions”.
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