Gordon Hayward believes it’ll be his two former teams that meet in the 2025 NBA Finals.
Hayward began his career and had his best years with the Utah Jazz, playing seven years in Salt Lake City while being named an All-Star in 2017.
However, he spent a few years playing with the Boston Celtics (2017-2020) before concluding his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder last year.
The recently retired star predicts it’ll be the Celtics against the Thunder, with Boston repeating as champions.
”I’ll just take the easy answer here and say Celtics-Thunder and Celtics repeat as champions,” says Hayward in an exclusive interview with Basketball Insiders on behalf of his partnership with Colgate.
Hayward is very familiar with the Celtics, having teamed up with stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. During his tenure in Boston, the Celtics went to the Eastern Conference Finals twice and semifinals once. However, they were never able to get over the hump until recently, when the Celtics finally won the NBA Finals last season over the Dallas Mavericks.
While the team appears to be playing in “cruise control” as Hayward calls it, he still believes Boston is the team to beat. The Celtics currently have the second-best record in the East at 47-19 behind the 55-10 Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston split the season series with Cleveland, losing their most recent game against their East rivals, 123-116, on Feb. 28.
Furthermore, they’ve lost both of their games against the Thunder (54-12) this season, losing this past Wednesday, 118-112.
“Just watching from afar, they appear to be in cruise control mode,” says Hayward when asked the difference between this year’s team to last year’s. “I personally think they’re still the favorites. I think that come playoff time — and I spoke earlier about the experience you get in the playoffs — they certainly have that experience. No doubt winning last year, but even the experiences when I was there with (Tatum) and (Brown), losing in the playoffs, those are big deals. Those are the things you can’t teach and things that you have to go through.”
Hayward stresses that the Celtics remaining “healthy” is key and says if they’re able to do so, they’re still the team to beat. Kristaps Porzingis was sidelined at the start of the season due to a retinaculum injury suffered in last year’s NBA Finals and is currently out due to an illness.
However, outside of Porzingis, the Celtics’ core have remained relatively healthy.
“If they can stay healthy, that’s the big if for every team in the NBA, but certainly for them with the amount of games that they’ve played and the run they went on last year,” says Hayward. “Getting guys to be healthy, that playoff run for two months, it’s a long, grueling season. As long as they can stay healthy, I think they’re the favorites.”
Hayward: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander My Pick For MVP
While Hayward predicts it’ll be the Celtics who win the NBA Finals, he predicts his former teammate, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win the MVP award for the first time.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging a league-high 32.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game while leading the Thunder to the best record in the Western Conference. It also helps matters that the Thunder have the best record in the West for the second consecutive season and the fact that the 26-year-old has yet to win the MVP award.
Hayward believes it’ll be Gilgeous-Alexander who wins the award, but he makes sure to mention how the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic will be up there due to averaging a triple-double with 29.0 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the betting favorite, while Jokic is right behind him. However, what may end up hurting Jokic’s case is the fact that he’s won the MVP award three times, which may result in voter fatigue.
With that being said, Jokic is making it a tough race after recently posting the NBA’s first-ever 30-point, 20-rebound, 20-assist performance.
“If you had to pick somebody right now, it would probably be Shai, just because their team is so good and they’re No. 1 in the West right now,” says Hayward. “It’s so hard to choose between him or Jokic. The stuff that both of them do, Jokic is averaging a triple-double. I saw Jokic had a 30-20-20 game, which is mind-blowing to think about. It seems like he doesn’t even try when he’s out there. I think you probably have to give it to Shai because of the way his team is doing.”
Hayward Details Partnership With Colgate
While being honored as a legend at the Big East tournament due to his prolific career at Butler — he played in the National Championship Game in 2010 — Hayward is partnering with Colgate for their “Colgate Total Active Prevention System.”
The product features a different toothpaste, a “state-of-the-art” toothbrush and mouthwash to prevent gingivitis and cavities. Colgate also just so happens to be the official oral partner of the Big East conference.
Hayward is also filming some social media content with the brand.
”It is something where as an athlete, I’m very used to doing stuff to prevent future health problems — called prehab — and Colgate is doing something very similar with the system that they have,” Hayward explains. “It’s going to help prevent all of those problems. They have a new toothpaste, toothbrush and mouthwash. As a father, it’s something I’m trying to do, to actively get my kids to brush their teeth.”