On the eve of the 2024 NBA Finals, Jayson Tatum was willing to acknowledge the pressure to help the Celtics win their 18th NBA championship. During the media press conference on Wednesday, the 26-year-old star broke down what it means to be on the cusp of history with such a historic franchise.
“If you want to be one of the greats to put on this uniform, every great before you won a championship. The expectations are obviously different here,” Tatum said, via ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “It takes special players to be here and to be a part of an environment like that.”
The Celtics and Lakers are currently tied at 17 championships apiece, but the Celtics have a chance to re-take their spot as the winningest team with a victory in this series. for Tatum, he’s humbled to think about those who came before him.
“We only hang NBA championship banners, right? 17 of them,” Tatum said. “Some of the greatest players to ever play this game wore this uniform. All of us are honored to follow in their footsteps, the way they paved for us to live out our dream.”
So far, Tatum (26 years old) and Brown (27 years old) have withstood all of the trade rumors over the years and they’ve put together one of the most impressive runs by any duo in modern NBA history — even if it hasn’t come with a title. If they lose now to the Mavericks, many believe changes will be warranted, but Jayson wants to put all of that aside to live fully in the moment.
“I don’t think about the future or what this may mean for me down the road,” Tatum said. “As simple as it sounds, just try to stay present, stay in the moment, enjoy it, right? Keep talking about pressure, pressure, pressure… It’s the NBA Finals. This s— is supposed to be fun.”
With season averages of 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game on 47.1% shooting, Tatum was an MVP frontrunner all season long and now it’s time to back it up. After cruising through the regular season and then through the East playoffs, the Celtics are out of excuses and expectations couldn’t be higher.
Jaylen Brown Says The Celtics Are Ready To Cement Their Legacy
Despite their youth, the Celtics have been in this position before. Besides the 21 other times they’ve advanced to the final round, this particular group made a similar run back in 2022. In that series, against the Warriors, Tatum and Brown were ultimately defeated in six games against a more experienced and well-rounded roster.
With a chance to come out on the winning end this time, Jaylen Brown knows the importance of the moment ahead and he’s ready to seize the moment and establish a lasting legacy with the franchise.
“We’ve been able to go through the experiences of having success but not having success at the same time. I think to solidify the ultimate goal is to get over the hump and win,” said Brown. “I think that will add a lot to our legacy. But as of right now, that story is kind of still untold.”
With Game 1 set to kick off tomorrow, it won’t be long now before we find out if the Celtics duo, who were both drafted 3rd overall, are for real or if they’re just blowing smoke. Judging from how they’ve looked in the playoffs so far, they aren’t messing around and they are determined to give the Mavericks everything they’ve got.
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