Jayson Tatum: “Damn I am in the finals”
The NBA Finals are a big deal, and though the Boston Celtics are the team tied for the most championships, their current roster is there for the first time.
The Boston Celtics won Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, 120-108. For the current Celtics roster, this is their first time experiencing the finals at all, let alone a victory in the finals.
The Celtics are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the team with the most NBA championships (17). But for the Celtics, it’s been a while since they’ve enjoyed the bright lights and banners of the finals. The last time Boston made it to the finals was in 2010, and the last time they won it was in 2008. 14 years later, they’re ready for another title.
Jayson Tatum is the current star for the Celtics, and he spoke about how the reality of being in the finals was really starting to sink in before the game.
“Sometimes you’ve got to pinch yourself,” said Tatum. “I walk in, I see this backdrop, and it’s like, damn, I am in the finals.”
The Celtics coach, Ime Udoka, said before the start of the series he isn’t worried at all about the team being new to the finals experience and did not see it as a disadvantage.
“I’m not really worried about Jayson, Jaylen, and the younger guys that haven’t been on the stage,” said Udoka. “They got to the Eastern Conference finals multiple times.”
Tatum has made it to the Conference Finals three times and is already starting to be considered one of the big stars in the league. Though he didn’t have his best game on Thursday, getting shut down early and often by the Warriors defense, he still managed to set a record career-high in assists with 13. He finished the game with a total of 12 points, three-of-17 from the field. His 13 assists made the difference in the Celtics’ fourth-quarter comeback though.
Game 2 will be played in San Francisco on Sunday, June 5 at 8 p.m. ET.