“Damn, I Really Played Against LeBron James and Kevin Durant”: Jayson Tatum On His Competition In 6 Years

Jayson Tatum was thrown into the fire very early on in his NBA career. Drafted 3rd overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2017 Draft, he was taken by a team that already had a young wing in Jaylen Brown, had just traded for a star veteran wing in Gordon Hayward, and had replaced Isaiah Thomas for Kyrie Irving. 

Despite this, JT made it a point to carve out a role for himself on a loaded Celtics squad that was aiming to claim a championship. Hayward and Irving going down with injuries in 2017-18 actually helped Tatum establish himself on the squad as he was the focal point of their offense in their ECF series against LeBron James and the Cavaliers. 

He did have quite the down year in 2018-19 due to him not gelling with Kyrie’s often ball-stopping play. Though, the following year after Irving made his way to the Nets, it was very clear that it was his and Jaylen Brown’s team.

Also read: Despite Michael Jordan’s Frequent Texts, Jayson Tatum Confessed the Bulls Legend ‘Avoided’ Him After his 51-Point Night Against Hornets

Jayson Tatum on the legends he’s played against 

Jayson Tatum, in an interview with Complex, was asked about how he feels about having played against legends such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry. In response, the Celtics superstar said: 

“I’ve had playoff series against LeBron, against KD; I’ve played against Steph in the Finals. I’ve been on the Olympic team with KD. When you truly sit down and think about it, it is historic – I’ve played and competed against legends.” 

Tatum would then go on to say that he can’t get complacent because what makes the aforementioned legends special is the fact that they don’t get complacent. 

With the way the Celtics season is going in 2022-23, it’s safe to say that they are looking at yet another deep Playoff run that could potentially lead to a back-to-back Finals berth. 

Jayson Tatum took on a litany of legends last year 

Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics had one of the toughest roads to the NBA Finals last year in recent memory. Their first matchup was against Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s Brooklyn Nets, who they swept to return the favor for the previous year’s first round matchup. 

They would then go into a 7-game duel against the defending champion, Milwaukee Bucks, and ruin Giannis Antetokounmpo’s chances at repeating as champ. Their Eastern Conference Finals opponent was the same team that took LeBron James to 6 games two years prior. 

Jimmy Butler and company wouldn’t make it to the promiseland however as Boston would prevail and take Stephen Curry and the Warriors to 6 games as well. 

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler, and the Warriors Big 3: an incredible lineup of talent to take on in a single Playoff run.

Also read: “Jayson Tatum Had To Put Deuce To Sleep!”: When Ja Morant Tried and Failed Getting in Celtics Star’s Head