In a chat with Forbes, Celtics star Jayson Tatum opened up on his NBA journey and what he expects after capturing his first championship. As he invoked the name of Kobe Bryant, Tatum explained that his hunger for success was not even close to being satisfied.
Forbes: “All-NBA, champion, gold medal… specifically on the court, what else do you want to accomplish?”
Jayson Tatum: “I want to continue to keep getting better. As a kid, I was very motivated. I set a bunch of goals for myself and I’ve been blessed in real-time to slowly check off certain boxes that I wanted to accomplish. I want to win MVP one day, I want to win more championships. I want to be the Finals MVP. Those are at the top of the list of things I still want to accomplish.”
Forbes: “When you consider those and obviously in the past you’ve spoken about being the face of the NBA. Is that the blueprint to getting there? How do you see yourself achieving that?”
Jayson Tatum: “That’s an opinion thing because if you ask 10 different people you might get 10 different answers. You put yourself in that conversation and people might see you in that light. How you carry yourself, how you represent yourself in certain situations. And obviously in your style of play. How you connect with the fans, how you dominate the game. Winning championships for sure helps.”
Forbes: “Speaking of the face of the NBA, you have spoken at length about your relationship with another face: Kobe Bryant. I’m curious, as you go forward, what do you model after him?”
Jayson Tatum: “Being relentless. Kobe didn’t stop at being satisfied with one championship or two or three, he ended up winning five. And he didn’t have any regrets when he left. That’s what I admire about him the most, he gave everything he had to the game of basketball.”
Tatum and the Celtics are only a few months removed from their Finals win over the Mavericks. Tatum was a beast in the series with averages of 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 5 games. While he didn’t win Finals MVP (the honor went to Jaylen Brown), the Celtics are in a good position to make another Finals trip in this campaign.
With Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzinis, the Celtics are the favorites to come out of the East, and they are already 2nd in the standings at 17-4.
As a hardcore Kobe Bryant fan, Tatum has always incorporated elements of Kobe’s game into his arsenal and that includes his insatiable drive to win. In 20 years in the NBA, Kobe maximized his career as a 5x champion, former MVP, and 18x All-Star.
Just like Kobe, Tatum wants to be more than a one-hit wonder. He wants to win multiple titles and win as many awards as he can before his skills start to fade. With one title in the books at 26 years old, he’s off to a pretty good start so far but the job is not yet finished.
The next game for the Celtics is tomorrow, December 4th, at TD Garen against the Pistons at 7:30 PM EST. They play the Bucks on Friday, December 6th before a matchup against the Grizzlies on December 7th at 8:00 PM EST.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We appreciate your support.
