NBA FINALS
Jayson Tatum looking to cement his name as a Boston Celtics great
The Celtics forward knows he must win a championship to be considered one of the best players in franchise history ahead of the final against Dallas.
The Boston Celtics are anxious to secure their 18th NBA championship in their franchise history but face a tricky series against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals. Boston forward Jayson Tatum, is aware of the magnitude of the task ahead as he looks to fulfill a lifelong goal and cement his name as a legend among the Celtics fanbase.
The history of the Boston Celtics is littered with some of the biggest names in basketball with the likes of: Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Kevin McHale, Larry Bird, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett all sporting the famous green jersey and the five-time NBA All-Star wants to add his name to this cast of talented players.
This years final will be Tatum’s second chance to win a championship with the Celtics after the side from Beantown fell short in the 2022 finals where they lost to an in-form Golden State Warriors.
“Some of the greatest in the history of the game wore this uniform and we are all honored to follow in their footsteps,” Tatum said. “In essence, if you want to be one of the best in the history of this team, you have to win a championship like they did before us.”
For the Duke University graduate, the goal of going all the way is always a key objective established every year and therefore expectations are always high for Boston and despite having reached the Eastern Conference Finals in six of the last eight seasons and in 2022 they fell short against a Steph Curry inspired Golden State Warriors.
“That's what we try to do every season, the expectations are different here, obviously,” said the forward. “It takes special players to be here (in the Finals) and be part of an environment like this.”
During these playoffs Tatum has bagged 26 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Additionally, he has limited the number of turnovers to 2.4 while his assists have climbed to 5.9, compared to his regular season numbers (2.5 and 4.9 respectively).
Tatum aiming for Kobe’s points record
Jayson Tatum’s career expectations have been high since since his rookie year but this year along with Jaylen Brown, the pair have been instrumental in Boston’s drive to the final. The St. Louis native has accumulated 2,600 points in 108 postseason games and this tally is the second best record among basketball players aged 26 or younger.
The record for a player of that age belongs to Kobe Bryant, Lakers who scored 2,694 points after playing 119 playoff games at the age of 26 or younger.
This means that Tatum could surpass the ‘Black Mamba’ record if he manages to score an average of 23.75 points in the first four outings of the 2024 Finals against Dallas.