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What Jayson Tatum’s son, Deuce, told him amid Celtics victory celebration
"I dreamed about what it would be like, but this is 10 times better.”
Jayson Tatum buried his head in his hands as the confetti rained down above him.
After seven seasons in Boston, the Celtics star finally achieved basketball immortality — cementing himself as one of the greatest players in franchise history by helping his team secure a record-setting 18th championship.
The 26-year-old forward was doubled over with emotion as the weight of that sought-after title finally lifted off his shoulders. That relief quickly gave way to joy for Tatum, especially when he realized his son, Deuce, was stapled to his hip.
In a shot that will inevitably be immortalized in Celtics history, Tatum hoisted his son amid the deluge of confetti — embracing him on the parquet floor in front of nearly 20,000 fans.
Speaking after Boston’s 106-88 Game 5 triumph over the Mavericks in the NBA Finals, Tatum was candid when asked to share what his son told him during that on-court embrace.
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“He told me that I was the best in the world,” Tatum said. “I said, “You’re damn right I am.’”
It’s tough to argue with said sentiment, especially with Tatum cementing Boston’s latest title with a 31-point, eight-rebound, 11-assist performance in his team’s clinching performance.
Even though Tatum’s longtime teammate, Jaylen Brown, was the one to take home NBA Finals MVP honors, Tatum put himself in rare company during Boston’s title run.
According to Michael Pina of The Ringer, Tatum became the sixth NBA champion in league history to lead his team in playoff points, rebounds, and assists during a single postseason — joining LeBron James, Larry Bird, Nikola Jokic, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Tim Duncan.
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“The main goal for us was to win a championship,” Tatum said of Brown winning MVP honors. “We weren’t — we didn’t care who got Finals MVP. I know that I need him through this journey and he needs me. So, you know, it was great to see him have that moment and share that moment with him. I’m extremely happy for him. Well-deserved. That was big-time. He earned that.”
Even though Tatum has established himself as one of the top players in the NBA over the years, the road has been far from easy at times for Boston. Tatum and several of his teammates finally reached the summit on Monday, but it was the byproduct of multiple missteps and failures along the way.
For Tatum, those setbacks and hard lessons were essential for building him and his teammates up for this championship conquest.
“It took being relentless,” Tatum said. “It took being on the other side of this and losing in the Finals and being at literally the lowest point in a basketball career that you could be, to next year, to the following year, thinking that was going to be the time, and come up short again.
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“So, I mean, people have said it before. But coming up short and having failures makes this moment that much better,” he added. “Because you know what it feels like to lose. You know what it feels like to be on the other side of this and be in the locker room and hearing the other team celebrating, hearing them celebrate on your home floor. That was devastating.
Tatum juxtaposed it with where he now stands as a champion.
“And now, to elevate yourself in a space that, you know, all your favorite players are in, everybody that they consider greats or legends have won a championship, and all of the guys I looked up to won a championship, multiple championships.
“So now I can, like, walk in those rooms and be a part of that,” he concluded. “It’s a hell of a feeling. This is more — I dreamed about what it would be like, but this is 10 times better.”
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