Jayson Tatum says critics will always have to refer to him as an NBA champion
BOSTON -- Jayson Tatum has a noticeable chip on his shoulders these days. Or should we say, "NBA Champion Jayson Tatum" has a noticeable chip on his shoulders these days?
The Celtics star has been heavily scrutinized throughout his seven-year NBA career, and his detractors and haters will still find ways to criticize him going forward. But one thing they cannot take away from Tatum is the fact that he'll forever be known as an NBA champ, which he really hammered home Monday after reporting to Team USA training camp in Las Vegas.
"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," Tatum told reporters. "I did it at the highest level. So having that under my belt, 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 has certainly earned that, and while some will continue to debate if he can be a top-5 player in the NBA or truly lead a team, he'll be focused on adding to his title collection. After he led the Celtics on a historic 64-win regular season, followed by a 16-3 postseason and the franchise's 18th title, Tatum will now look to win a second Olympic gold medal in Paris.
Tatum was second on Team USA in scoring (behind only Kevin Durant) when he won a gold medal in Tokyo during the 2020 Olympics games. He's now joining forces with some usual NBA foes to bring home another.
"That's the fun part, you get to be on the same team with all these guys that you compete against, that you're battling and fighting," said Tatum. "That's the unique and cool part about Team USA is guys that you always gotta have an edge around or fighting against, that you get to come together and try to do something special."
It's been a whirlwind few weeks for Tatum since the Celtics beat the Mavericks on June 17 to claim the NBA's crown. The Celtics had a quick celebration in Miami before parading through Boston, and then a week later, Tatum signed the richest contract in NBA history. He managed to fit in a haircut before heading to Vegas to train with Team USA, and will soon head to Paris to go for gold.
Will Tatum get to enjoy any downtime before the 2024-25 NBA season?
"After we win this s--- I'll get some," he said confidently on Monday.
Jayson Tatum reacts to signing supermax with Celtics
Tatum will remain the face of the Celtics franchise (along with Jaylen Brown) after he signed a record five-year, $314 million extension last weekend. Tatum said he's honored to sign the richest deal in NBA history, but this isn't about the money for him. It's about the commitment from the Cetlics, and him rewarding that commitment with more championships.
"I'm very just thankful and grateful," he said. "It's not about the money. I've been fortunate enough to make enough, more than I ever thought I would ever have and to take care of my family. So for me, just to feel wanted, that they wanted me to be, wanted me for the long haul, for my whole career.
"I've got nothing but love for the city, the fans and everybody in the organization, and we just won a championship, and I want try to win as many as I can," Tatum added.
Celtics' victory parade remains the highlight for Tatum
Many members of the Celtics are pointing to the team's victory parade through Boston as their favorite part of winning a title, as over a million fans packed the streets to cheer on the champs. Tatum is no different.
"That was like the best two hours of my life," Tatum said of the parade. "It's hard to explain to somebody that wasn't there. That was an insane atmosphere, energy. I had a hell of a time."
Tatum pumped the Celtics stayed intact this offseason
Championship teams usually lose a key member of two, but the Celtics are bringing back 13 of the 15 players from their title-winning roster. Nobody is happier about that than Tatum, who gushed about the team's chemistry throughout the 2023-24 season.
"We had a hell of a team," he said. "Obviously the guys that did play, but the guys in our 'stay ready' group are extremely talented whenever we called upon them. I think the camaraderie that we had was such a close-knit team that we all got along really, really well."
Joe Mazzulla is already in the kitchen for 2024-25 season
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was with Tatum when he signed his extension, and it sounds like he wanted to use that as a chance start talking about different plays for next season. This is no shock, since in the moments after his team won a title, Mazzulla pointed out that other teams were already way ahead of Boston in their offseason prep work.
Tatum, however, isn't ready to start talking X's and O's for 2024-25 just yet.
"Joe was already trying to draw up [expletive] for next season," Tatum said with a smirk. "I was like, 'Joe, [expletive] that. 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," added Tatum. "But it's like, man, we worked so hard for this, we've got to enjoy it."