Jayson Tatum says Celtics title shifted narrative about him: ‘I’ve done some things they can’t debate’
"They’ve always got to refer to me as an NBA champion.”
The questions about whether Jayson Tatum could lead the Celtics to a championship have been answered.
Now there are new questions, about whether or not the Celtics can repeat and whether their spending is sustainable.
But for now, the weight of winning that first title has been lifted, and Tatum is enjoying his new status as a champion.
“You know, just being the topic of discussion of so many debates or whatever it is. ‘Can he lead a team? Is he a top-five player?’ ” Tatum said, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “There’s still a lot ‘of things I guess they can debate, but I’ve done some things they can’t debate. I won a championship. I did it at the highest level.
“So having that under my belt, like, obviously there’s still conversations to be had or whatever people want to say, but they’ve always got to refer to me as an NBA champion.”
Tatum called the championship parade the best two hours of his life. He recently signed a five-year, $314 million contract extension that will keep him in Boston for a long time.
“For me just to feel wanted, and they want me to be here and want me for the long haul,” Tatum said. “I’ll spend my whole career here and have got nothing but love for the fans, the city, and the organization. You know, we just won a championship and I want to try to win as many as I can.”
Tatum said coach Joe Mazzulla is already drawing up plays for next season. He jokingly told the coach to chill out and soak in the victory for a little bit.
“I was like, ‘Joe, [expletive] that,” Tatum said. “We just won the championship, like, enjoy it and relax. We’re not worried about any sets that you’re trying to put in right now.’ We had a good laugh about it, because he’s just so driven, which we all are, but it’s like, man, we worked so hard for this, we’ve got to enjoy it.”
With their top six players all under contract for next season and several key role players returning, Tatum and the Celtics will prepare for their shot at another title. Bringing back almost the entire roster is an advantage that Tatum is grateful for.
“The camaraderie that we had, we were such a close-knit team, and we all got along really, really well,” Tatum said. “And I’m looking forward to it. I didn’t really want any changes. I thought we had a really, really good team on all fronts, as long as we stay healthy.”
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