Jayson Tatum reveals ‘urgent’ goal as Celtics embark on title defense
The Boston Celtics, after years of consistently being among the best teams in the Eastern Conference, finally broke through in 2024. They have forever immortalized themselves as champions, a distinction that no one could ever take away from them. However, Jayson Tatum does not want to live in the past and be too caught up in his past successes.
Speaking with Jared Weiss of The Athletic, Tatum implored himself and the rest of the Celtics squad to maintain the same sense of urgency they had last season as they look to climb the NBA mountaintop yet again and put up a worthy title defense.
“I’m of the mindset that after ring night, in a weird way, we got to put that behind (us). Last year was last year. We did it. It was a dream come true. We worked our a** off for it. But after ring night, we gotta move on. We gotta get ready for game two,” Tatum said.
This is not to say that Jayson Tatum is part of the fun police and that he doesn’t want the Celtics to celebrate their hard-earned championship. In fact, the opposite is true. But he wants them to not celebrate in a manner that’s way too out of proportion, as they have a new task up ahead for them in the coming season.
It will be even more difficult for the Celtics now that they are the defending champion. They have now become the most hunted team in the association, and with that comes the difficulty of receiving every team’s best effort night after night. That will take its toll. But Tatum is looking to ready himself and the rest of the squad up for the challenges that lie ahead.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum shrugs off uninspiring Olympic stint with Team USA
Coming off a triumph in the 2024 NBA Finals, the world was Jayson Tatum’s oyster. He was a no-brainer selection to represent Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics, having already been part of the team in 2021 in Tokyo, and his inclusion cemented his place atop the league’s totem pole, having been cast alongside some of the biggest stars in the game in LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant.
However, the Celtics star’s time playing for Team USA in Paris did not go according to plan, at least relative to the role he had envisioned for himself. Head coach Steve Kerr yanked Tatum’s role around, giving him a DNP in two separate games against Serbia, and then limiting him to a small role in the four other games.
It’s not as though Tatum was kicking down the door of more playing time. The Celtics star’s jumpshot completely deserted him in Paris; he failed to make a jumpshot throughout the competition, and it was difficult for Kerr to justify playing him over Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, and even his Celtics teammates Jrue Holiday and Derrick White as a result.
But again, Tatum is looking to put the past where it belongs: in the rearview mirror. The Celtics star may have been humbled by his latest Team USA stint, but believes that it will work out for the best for him in the long run.
“I’m always a glass-half-full type of guy. I always believe everything happens for a reason and whatever that is, I don’t know yet. But I’m certain I’ll find out,” Tatum added.
The post Jayson Tatum reveals ‘urgent’ goal as Celtics embark on title defense appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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