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Jayson Tatum Spill Beans About The Moment He Knew Celtics Would Win NBA Title
Jayson Tatum led Celtics to their 18th NBA title after beating Dallas Mavericks in the final and he recently discussed the moment that he felt he will become an NBA champion.
The Boston Celtics won their 18th championship as a team last season. Head coach Joe Mazzulla's team, led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, dominated the regular season and the playoffs, with the Celtics holding their opponents to fewer than 100 points in 11 of their 19 games.
The Celtics were locked in at every step of their attempt to erase the memory of their 2022 NBA Finals defeat to the Golden State Warriors, even though some thought they had an easy postseason run. In a recent interview with Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, Tatum talked about the instant he realized the Celtics would win their first championship since 2008.
“People always ask me, when did you guys know you were going to win a championship?” Tatum said. “When Minnesota beat Denver, I felt like Denver was the only team that they matched up best with us. I thought that we were going to play Denver in the Finals and it was going to be a good one."
Instead of playing the Denver Nuggets in a slobber-knocker, the Celtics played the Dallas Mavericks, whom they defeated in five games. Both Boston's extensive playoff history and their 2022 defeat by the Golden State Warriors probably contributed to their success.
With a target on their back, the Celtics will now start the new campaign. Mazzulla's team needs to demonstrate that it can contend for titles in the upcoming years and that its success wasn't the result of luck.
“[Coach] Joe Mazzulla, he had a great quote the other day,” Tatum said. “He said, we’re not defending anything. We’re chasing another championship... Honestly, after opening night, we have to put it behind us. It’s a new season. Last year, we accomplished something special. We’ve got to figure out a way to get better. We wanted to approach the game with the same mindset, and we did an amazing job of that last year."
This summer, several NBA teams—particularly those in the Eastern Conference—have improved. In New York, Mikal Bridges teamed up with Jalen Brunson and company while Paul George joined the Philadelphia 76ers. Tatum is therefore unable to determine whether his team will win consecutive titles by concentrating on a single squad.
Rather, he and his teammates need to accept the grind. The forthcoming season provides the ideal stage for the Celtics to demonstrate their point.
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