Jayson Tatum is one of the best players in the NBA as it currently stands. From getting drafted by the legendary organization Boston Celtics with the 3rd pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to winning a championship with that very same team in the 2024 NBA Finals, Tatum has climbed the ranks of being one of the faces of the league in the modern day NBA. Within just 7 seasons, Tatum has become one out of three players in league history to have 60 plus points without committing a turnover in a regular season game, scored the most points in any game 7 series with 51 and is a 5-time NBA All-Star while having 4 All NBA First Team selections. It’s safe to say that Tatum has an extremely bright future ahead of him. Now imagine if all of that never happened; because it almost didn’t
Even though Tatum was drafted with the 3rd pick, the Celtics during that same offseason signed free agent and All-Star Gordon Hayward to a 4-year, $128 million dollar contract to gain more depth and build towards a possible championship run for that 2017-18 season. When signing a player for that much money, one would assume that the Celtics were not planning on having Hayward come off the bench and be a mentor for the rookie Tatum. Hayward was seemingly their guy for the immediate future while grooming Tatum to be next in line years to come. In the eyes of Tatum at the time, he wasn’t feeling it.
During a recent interview and episode on “Club 250 Podcast,” which is hosted by former NBA player Jeff Teague, Tatum explained that he wanted out of Boston and mentioned to his agent about getting traded to another team before the regular season had even started. Within Tatum’s perspective, being a top 3 pick in the draft, he didn’t want to come off the bench and not start. He wanted to play and showcase his talents to not only the city, the organization, his peers but also to the fans that he belonged to play in the NBA. Fortunately for Tatum, Hayward’s time with the Celtics was pretty rough. Within just 5 minutes of the first game of that season against the LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers, Hayward would break his leg with his season ended abruptly, allowing the rookie Tatum to rise to the occasion and step up for Boston and the rest was history.
While averaging 30 points per game so far in the 2024-25 season, shooting 48.1% from the field with 7.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists to go with it, Tatum is playing at an exceptionally high level and made the right decision to stay in Boston and continue his development as a player and now he’s a champion. The biggest takeaway from the Boston Celtics’ ring ceremony before their 132-109 victory over the New York Knicks, Tatum simply said “let’s do it again.” Simply implying his confidence not just with his teammates but within himself that he can take them back to the promised land and win championship gold once more.
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