LeBron James compared Jayson Tatum's struggles to win a title to himself and 3 other NBA legends
From wire to wire, the Boston Celtics have been the NBA’s best team during this regular season. But that’s the rub: Boston has proven its dominance in the regular year in the past. None of this is particularly new. For this team with a constellation of stars led by Jayson Tatum, it’s all about finally getting the job done in the postseason and winning a title. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say the Celtics have, by far, the most pressure on them to do so this spring.
LeBron James is well aware of these discussions, and he’s not concerned about Tatum ever failing to reach the NBA’s summit — be it this season or sometime in the future.
In James’ new podcast, “Mind The Game,” with JJ Reddick, the legend said Tatum is right on track with other NBA all-time greats. After listing some of Tatum’s accolades, James perfectly used his age (26) to explain why it isn’t a big deal the Celtics star hasn’t won a title yet.
Everything James said is true about being a league alpha dog.
Even after winning three MVP awards, James himself did not win a title until he was 28 and on his second team with the Miami Heat. After winning two MVP awards, Nikola Jokic did not win a title with the Denver Nuggets until he was 28. Despite a laundry list of his own accomplishments, Michael Jordan famously took his lumps from the Detroit Pistons before finally winning his first championship with the Chicago Bulls, also at the age of 28. And it took until Kobe Bryant was 30 before he won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers without the help of Shaquille O’Neal.
James’ point is even more salient when it comes to the sometimes unrealistic expectations of success for NBA stars. It doesn’t matter how talented you are. It doesn’t matter how great your supporting cast is, either. League history says that everyone has to pay their dues before finally hoisting that awesome Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. The pain of defeat, sometimes for what feels like ages, is inevitable. But it’s what makes these mentioned legends so special in the first place. Why? Because they kept pushing and pushing until they finally broke through. They never threw in the towel. They knew they had to experience failure to understand what it meant to achieve that ultimate glory. They just kept competing.
Tatum has already experienced his fair share of heartbreak. Chances are that past failure has sharpened him enough to finally win a title this season and perhaps even get ahead of other legends of the game. Even if he doesn’t do it this spring with Boston, the established ledger of NBA all-time greats all say he’s still right on schedule.