Jayson Tatum has been one of the best players in the NBA for the last few seasons but the strength of his Celtics’ roster often makes people overlook his contributions. He reflected on the same when asked by Draymond Green on TNT after the Celtics clinched their third consecutive Conference Finals appearance.
“It’s a lot of things I wish I could say, but it’s not for me to decide. Everybody has their job, including the voters who decide who should win MVP. Jokic rightly deserved that this year. At this point, the only thing that matters is getting that big trophy. We can worry about the individual awards later down my career, but this year just trying to get that championship.”
Jayson Tatum: “We can worry about the individual awards later down my career, but this year just trying to get that championship.” 🏆 pic.twitter.com/4wbhvsvWNE
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 16, 2024
Tatum consistently feels aggrieved at the fact that his individual play hasn’t gotten the recognition it deserves. We know that there was a small push from Tatum and his camp to put him in the MVP race around the All-Star break, but a string of disappointing performances led to the push dying down.
Tatum has averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in the season, with 24.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in the playoffs. He had a slow start to the postseason run but is finally showing up for superstar performances, scoring more than 25 points in the Celtics’ last three wins over the Cavaliers.
Boston will face either an inexperienced Indiana Pacers squad or an injured New York Knicks roster. This is a golden opportunity for Tatum and the Celtics to make it to the NBA Finals once again.
Jayson Tatum Doesn’t Think The Celtics Are A Superteam
Jayson Tatum has pushed back on the narrative that the Celtics are a superteam all season long, primarily because of how it devalues his contributions to the team’s success. He doesn’t agree with the perception of Boston and uses end-of-season awards as a justification for why they aren’t a superteam.
“That’s the narrative you might see on TV, the idea that we have a super team. It’s twofold. We didn’t have the Coach of the Year or MVP. We only had two All-Stars. They say we’re a super team, but we didn’t get rewarded like we are.”
Superteams often don’t find themselves getting rewarded with awards at the end of the season. Tatum’s individual performance wasn’t dominant enough to warrant MVP love, while Joe Mazzulla’s contributions were understandably overlooked when Mark Daigneault led the youngest team in the NBA to the No. 1 seed in a more challenging conference.
The Celtics have been able to sleepwalk through the East, primarily because they’re a superteam and also because their playoff opponents have self-destructed with injuries.
If the Celtics can’t win the title this season, it might be one of the worst seasons we have seen out of this group due to the utter dominance they’ve had over the NBA. Losing four out of seven games when it matters most will reinforce all the negative beliefs about the Celtics just not having what it takes to win a title.
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