Two weeks ago, I wrote a column about Caitlin Clark and haters focusing on the star WNBA player and how people love to hate on athletes or people who are successful in general, sports or no sports.

Almost on que, the hate continues through the Boston Celtics.

The NBA Championship honored with the Walter A. Brown Trophy (1949-1976) and the Larry O’Brien Trophy (1977-present) have been won by the Celtics, a league record, 18 times with the conclusion of their 2024 NBA Finals series victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, June 17.

The Los Angeles Lakers, and fans, were hating as soon as they found out the Celtics were in the finals and had the chance to break the tie since the Lakers have 17 ships. Be careful when looking on Wikipedia, it says the west coast team has 18 championships. However, one is from the NBL (National Basketball League) in 1948 which is not counted toward NBA championships.

Through the Western Conference bracket Cinderella darlings were created in the form of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks.

In my opinion, deservedly so, as Anthony Edwards is emerging as a star and a contender for the future face of the league as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant age.

For the Mavericks, Luka Doncic showed why he may be the best offensive player in not only the league, but the world, while Kyrie Irving put away the propaganda, the stunts, and the unexplainable behavior, and legit proved he is still an amazing basketball player.

In the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler, the Cleveland Cavalier’s Donovan Mitchell, and the Indiana Pacer’s Tyrese Haliburton were injured as the Celtics defeated the Heat 4-1 in the first round, the Cavaliers 4-1 in the conference semifinals, and the Pacers 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

For kicks and giggles, let’s add the fact the Celtics had a 64-18 regular season record and had a 14-game lead over No. 2 the New York Knicks.

So, there was a team, Celtics, which had the chance to win the most titles in league history, had a sizeable Eastern Conference regular season lead over another media darling, the Knicks, and the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks (who were media darlings until Giannis started making demands and they began going through coaches quicker than the Detroit Pistons), and cruised through the playoff bracket.

Instead of celebrating their success and saying the Celtics, which have been building this team since it brought on Brad Stevens as a coach from 2013-21 and then moved him to the front office where he was named 2024 NBA Executive of the Year, drafted Jaylen Brown in 2016, Jayson Tatum in 2017, and brought in key players such as Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday, people are saying they had an easy route to the championship and are not a good team.

Why because they played teams with players who were hurt?

Answer: They beat the teams in the regular season when the players were healthy. And they didn’t personally injure them, it isn’t Boston’s fault.

Why because they beat the Mavs, your picked favorite, in the finals?

Answer: The Celtics have more depth, play more team basketball, and have better defenders.

Why because they dropped a double-digit game in the finals, Game 4?

Answer: Boston only lost three games in the entire playoffs. Plus, it’s better for the Celtic fanbase to win the championship in Boston. Another additional thought, the NBA executives are already mad only three playoff series went seven games, which were the Cavaliers first-round win over the Orlando Magic, and conference semifinal victories for the Pacers over the Knicks and the Timberwolves over the Nuggets. Since the conference finals were won 4-1 by Dallas and 4-0 by the Celtics, and the finals were undoubtedly going to be won by Boston, why not extend the finals for the last three series of the NBA season to be at least 14 games.

Why because you don’t like the Boston Celtics?

Answer: They were the best team in the NBA this year with the best record and the best team ball on the court. They built this team from scratch after the 2008 championship team dissipated. Instead of making crazy trades for overpriced players, they did it the right way and drafted great players and made smart business and basketball moves for role players who help win games.

Continued answer: They’re the team with the most championship banners hanging from the rafters, and us, as a people, would rather root for the Cinderella or the underdog than the outright better team.

I am far from a Boston Celtics fan, but as a sports fan, let’s quit hating success and embrace it, no matter where it comes from because hating isn’t going to take away the banner, the championship, or the Boston legacy.