Jayson Tatum is just 24 years old but has spent a long time in the league at this point. The Celtic was drafted half a decade ago in 2017 and made the Eastern Conference Finals as a rookie. LeBron James stood in his way then, but Tatum has improved by leaps and bounds in the last 5 seasons. Now, LeBron’s old foe Stephen Curry stands in the way of Tatum and an NBA Championship.
Either way, the accomplishment of getting to the NBA Finals is not lost on Tatum, who has had his fair share of playoff heartbreaks in his young career. This will serve as motivation come Thursday, but Tatum is taking some time to smell the roses.
After the Celtics beat the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, Tatum shared a message with the Boston fanbase on how making it this far is personally significant for the former Duke Blue Devil:
Boston we going to the finals☘️😁!! A kid from St. Louis… playing for the Celtics with chance to win a championship… dreamed of moments like this 🙏🏽
— Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0) May 30, 2022
Winning the 18th championship in Boston history and giving them the all-time lead over the Lakers will be an incredible story. Establishing yourself as a legend in a team with the history that Boston has is extremely tough, but it looks like Tatum can be on his way, especially if he wins a title this season.
The Warriors have a lot more experience in championship situations compared to the Celtics, who have made it this far by remarkable consistency on both sides of the ball. Granted, they found the consistency a few months too late, but Boston has undoubtedly been one of the best teams through the back half of the season.
Whether the Celtics are ready to be in this position is something we will see in Game 1 at the Chase Center, as Boston will look to open the series with a stunning blow and take the first game from the Warriors at their home arena.
