Jayson Tatum couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw confetti falling at TD Garden on Monday night after the Boston Celtics won the NBA Finals in five games against the Dallas Mavericks.
But as he tried to put his feelings into words in a postgame interview, ESPN asked him how he managed to navigate the conversation about expectations amid doubts about whether the Celtics will be able to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy at season’s end.
In his response, Tatum called out those critics.
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Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics celebrates after making a shot against the Mavericks during Game 3 of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Center on June 12, 2024 in Dallas. (Stacey Revere/Getty Images)
“We’re a tenacious team,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot as a team over the last couple of years, the last seven years I’ve been the manager. What will they say now?”
Tatum asked that last question because for years there have been skeptics who didn’t believe Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Celtics’ other stars could get the job done, despite their talent.
The Celtics beat the Mavericks in Game 5 to win their 18th NBA championship
The Celtics haven’t won an NBA title since the 2007-08 season but have reached the Finals twice since then, including in 2021-22 with Tatum at the helm.
But despite having the best record in the Eastern Conference the past two seasons, Boston lost in the Finals to the Golden State Warriors last season and then to the Miami Heat in the Conference Finals.
But this year, the No. 1 seed Celtics crushed a No. 1 seed (Heat), a No. 2 seed (Cleveland Cavaliers) and a conference finals (Indiana Pacers) before beating the Mavericks.
Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics is guarded by Kyrie Irving of the Mavericks at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Jan. 22, 2024. (Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
“It feels surreal. We did it,” Tatum said at the start of an interview with ESPN.
“We have responded all year and this time was no exception. We owe it to our spectators and our fans. It’s been a long journey.”
Tatum has been panned by critics in the past for not stepping up when the team needed him most in the postseason, but Brown was named Finals MVP after averaging 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists in this Finals game.
In Game 5 on Monday night, Tatum played 44 minutes on the court and led the team with 31 points on 11-of-24 shooting, dished out 11 assists and dished out eight rebounds.
Celtics’ Jayson Tatum celebrates after receiving the Larry O’Brien Trophy after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston on June 17, 2024. (Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
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As Tatum said, it’s been a long journey to get to this point, and while the Celtics have come close to winning trophies in the past, it was finally time to bring the title home to Boston, where the franchise has won 17 titles in its history.
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