Jayson Tatum: 'I want to be an all-time great'
Tatum is 25 and closing in on 10,000 career points. More than raising a banner in a city that has come to feel like home, he wants to change how fans talk about him. He wants to be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Bill Russell and Larry Bird. “I would love to be on the Mount Rushmore of Celtics,” Tatum says. “Bird, Russell, Paul Pierce and those guys. They paved the way. The one thing all those guys have is chips. I have to get to the top of the mountain to even be considered as one of those guys. I want to be an all-time great, I want to be known as a winner, and I believe I will be.”
Source: Jeff Goodman @ The Messenger
Source: Jeff Goodman @ The Messenger
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Bobby Manning @RealBobManning
If Blake Griffin doesn’t return to the #Celtics, he’ll join Marcus Smart and Grant Williams as key missing voices from the locker room. While hope exists that Brown & Tatum take steps as leaders, did Boston lose too much in that area?
NEW @CLNSMedia: clnsmedia.com/did-celtics-ac… – 4:09 PM
If Blake Griffin doesn’t return to the #Celtics, he’ll join Marcus Smart and Grant Williams as key missing voices from the locker room. While hope exists that Brown & Tatum take steps as leaders, did Boston lose too much in that area?
NEW @CLNSMedia: clnsmedia.com/did-celtics-ac… – 4:09 PM
Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Jayson Tatum talks about his dream of bringing the 18th title to the Celtics sportando.basketball/en/jayson-tatu… – 2:25 PM
Jayson Tatum talks about his dream of bringing the 18th title to the Celtics sportando.basketball/en/jayson-tatu… – 2:25 PM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Tatum would ‘love to be on the Mount Rushmore of Celtics,’ knows that requires a banner
nbcsports.com/nba/news/tatum… – 1:14 PM
Tatum would ‘love to be on the Mount Rushmore of Celtics,’ knows that requires a banner
nbcsports.com/nba/news/tatum… – 1:14 PM
StatMuse @statmuse
Who wins this 5v5?
Team over 30:
G — Steph Curry
G — Jimmy Butler
F — Kevin Durant
F — LeBron James
C — Anthony Davis
Team under 30:
G — Luka Doncic
G — Devin Booker
F — Jayson Tatum
F — Giannis Antetokounmpo
C — Nikola Jokic pic.twitter.com/t7dwi5Cvl0 – 9:59 AM
Who wins this 5v5?
Team over 30:
G — Steph Curry
G — Jimmy Butler
F — Kevin Durant
F — LeBron James
C — Anthony Davis
Team under 30:
G — Luka Doncic
G — Devin Booker
F — Jayson Tatum
F — Giannis Antetokounmpo
C — Nikola Jokic pic.twitter.com/t7dwi5Cvl0 – 9:59 AM
Jeff Goodman @GoodmanHoops
New on @TheMessenger:
Jayson Tatum on Jaylen Brown’s new contract, Marcus Smart’s departure, the criticism, his leadership style, his recent bond with Boston, and what matters most to him.
themessenger.com/sports/nba-bos… – 9:04 AM
New on @TheMessenger:
Jayson Tatum on Jaylen Brown’s new contract, Marcus Smart’s departure, the criticism, his leadership style, his recent bond with Boston, and what matters most to him.
themessenger.com/sports/nba-bos… – 9:04 AM
StatMuse @statmuse
Pick one:
Tatum — Luka —
22.5 PPG 27.6 PPG
7.0 RPG 8.6 RPG
3.3 APG 8.0 APG
46/38/85% 47/34/74% pic.twitter.com/4OHGSvdWu9 – 12:24 PM
Pick one:
Tatum — Luka —
22.5 PPG 27.6 PPG
7.0 RPG 8.6 RPG
3.3 APG 8.0 APG
46/38/85% 47/34/74% pic.twitter.com/4OHGSvdWu9 – 12:24 PM
More on this storyline
Jeff Goodman: Jayson Tatum got a close look at @Cooper_Flagg last month at his camp, and told me he was extremely impressed by the Maine native and No. 1 player in the country: “I like him a lot. Obviously, he’s athletic, he can dribble, shoot. The thing that impressed me was how hard he competed on both ends. He’s got an edge about him, not arrogant. He knows he’s good, but he realizes he’s got a long way to go. He’s going at guys, going at the pros. He was trying to block every shot, getting every rebound. He wasn’t playing cool. He was playing hard, competing. He was asking questions a lot, listening.” -via Twitter @GoodmanHoops / September 7, 2023
In the Finals, many felt he was out-coached by the Heat’s Erik Spoelstra. Tatum doesn’t want to hear it. He wants all of the criticism to fall on his shoulders. “I think it was unfair. I don’t know what more Joe could have done,” Tatum says. “He wasn’t out there turning the ball over and missing free throws. That was us.” -via The Messenger / September 7, 2023
“I’m still 25 and he’ll be 27 in two months,” Tatum says. “We’re far from perfect. We won’t ever get the credit we deserve until we actually win a championship. That is the ultimate goal, but you can’t bypass all the things we’ve accomplished in the six years we’ve been teammates at a very young age. We’ve been to the playoffs every single year, we’ve gotten better. Yes, it took some time to figure out how we can be as special as we can be, and how we can co-exist and do it together. I know everybody says, ‘They take turns.’ I feel like we got to a place where we were feeding off each other, playing really well.” -via The Messenger / September 7, 2023