Jayson Tatum put himself in arguably one of the best hypothetical duos in NBA history. The Boston Celtics young star is a student of the game, and he knows a thing or two about the players that lit up the league in the past 20 years or so.
One of those was Allen Iverson, one of the most controversial yet influential players of all time. In a recent interview on Kicks’ Beyond the Press show, Tatum was asked what team he’d like to play for before ‘his time.’ He went with the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers and Allen Iverson.
Per JT, that team only needed another guy to reach the glory and capture the NBA championship (25:08).
“Probably AI with Philly in 2001… Because all he was missing was one more guy.”
Truth be told, Iverson was on a one-man mission during those NBA playoffs. He was enough to take the Sixers to the NBA Finals but things were different once he faced the Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal-led Los Angeles Lakers in the biggest series of all.
Having a guy like Tatum, with his style of play, the Lakers would have had a harder time beating the Sixers. In the end, they won the series 4-1, getting their second of three titles.
The Answer won the MVP award that season, so you know he was good enough to compete against anybody. However, if he had a legit sidekick or another star like Tatum, we would’ve probably watch two more games of that series.
Moreover, the 23-year-old revealed who he’d give the ball for a last-second shot. Curiously, he named a former teammate as one of his picks.
“I played with Ky, so I’ve seen Ky hit a lot of big-time shots,” Tatum said. “It would probably be him or Dame. Those two guys have had a lot of big shots in their career.”
Jayson’s Celtics are entering a critical offseason. He doesn’t want to be another Iverson and fight on his own without proper help. The C’s need to make big moves this offseason if they aspire to compete in the East next season.
