It’s been a summer of achievements for Celtics star Jayson Tatum and he’s still trying to wrap his head around what happened over the last couple of months. Between the Finals, his endorsements, and the 2024 Olympic games, Tatum is the first to recognize how surreal the experience has been.
“It’s been a crazy summer,” said Tatum on St. Louis Today. “Fortunate enough to win my second Olympic gold medal on the national team. That was a hell of an experience. Finally won an NBA championship, which is something I’ve been working for for a very long time. We’ve gotten extremely close a few times and we finally got over the hump. So that was special and it felt like the weight of the world was off my shoulders.”
Jayson Tatum on his Olympic experience:
"It's been a crazy summer. Fortunate enough to win my second Olympic gold medal on the national team. That was a hell of an experience. Finally won an NBA championship… that was special."
(Via @stltoday) pic.twitter.com/Z8XnErvw6z
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) August 21, 2024
It’s been a long time coming for Jayson Tatum. For years, the 26-year-old swingman faced scrutiny from fans and experts for his inability to close the deal and lead his team when things got tough. After several failed playoff runs, the Celtics were facing doubts and speculation was rising that they would break up their iconic young duo.
But Tatum and his Celtics were able to answer the call this summer when they won the NBA Finals in a highly convincing fashion. Brown took home the Finals MVP, but they couldn’t have won without Tatum, who finished the series with averages of 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game on 47.1% shooting.
It was Tatum’s first championship and the Celtics plan to work hard to defend their title with Tatum, Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis next season.
The championship celebrations were still fresh when Tatum was announced as the new cover athlete for NBA 2K25, an honor that only gets offered to the best players in the game.
Tatum’s latest feat is winning gold at the Paris Olympic Games. While his place in the rotation was a controversial subject, he was able to suit up several times in the tournament to help deliver Team USA another Olympic win.
All-in-all, it’s been a historic summer for Jayson Tatum and he may look back on this period as the turning point of his career. After looking to prove himself and cement his legacy with the Celtics for so long, it must have been a powerful feeling to win the championship and then win the Olympic games in the same exact summer.
Now all that’s left to do is defend the championship and become the first team since the 2018 Warriors to go back-to-back. With mostly the same guys returning, the Celtics are in a great position here to make some noise and add another title to their collection.
The results will once again depend on the stars. After a dominant showing in the Finals, we already know what to expect from Jaylen Brown. But Tatum may have to bring his game to a whole new level if the Celtics want to keep control of the East. Fortunately, Tatum seems up for the task after a summer of proving himself as one of the best layers in the world.
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