After helping the Boston Celtics end their 16-year wait for an NBA title, Jayson Tatum was rewarded with a five-year, $314 million contract extension. The forward’s new deal is the biggest in league history, usurping the five-year, $304 million contract that teammate Jaylen Brown signed last offseason. Stephen A. Smith congratulated Tatum on securing the deal and claimed it was a no-brainer decision for the Celtics.
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The veteran analyst added that Tatum’s new contract accurately indicates his value to the franchise. Considering his impeccable form this season, the Celtics had no choice but to offer the five-time All-Star a max deal. Smith explained that as long as he was healthy, there were no doubts that he’d land the record-breaking extension. He said,
“Jaylen Brown got $304 million. The only way that Jayson Tatum wasn’t going to get his bag and more than Jaylen Brown is if he had gotten hurt and suffered some catastrophic injury. That was about it. Even with Jaylen Brown and his money, Jayson Tatum was the #1 option.”
Despite Brown winning the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals MVP, Smith claimed that Tatum was more important to the Celtics than his teammate. However, the franchise values both players equally. They were each handed a max deal and the keys to the castle for the foreseeable future.
Tatum wasn’t the only Celtics player to receive a massive contract extension after the team’s title win. The team rewarded Derrick White with a new four-year, $126 million deal, fending off the guard’s potential suitors.
White and Tatum’s new deals mean the Celtics have locked down almost all of their championship-winning rotation for multiple years. The franchise believes its current crop of players can ensure their title win wasn’t a one-and-done and hoist more trophies in the coming years.
During the regular season, the Celtics were head and shoulders above the rest of the league. They won 61 games, seven more games than the Oklahoma City Thunder, who managed 57 wins. They cruised to the title with a 16-3 record in the playoffs, and while many have accused them of being fortunate due to their opponents’ injury issues, it’s worth noting that Kristaps Porzingis played only three of their last 15 playoff games.
The Celtics will start next season as the team to beat. They are the defending champions and have retained most of their championship-winning core. Every team in the league has its crosshairs on the franchise, but they believe they have enough firepower to reign supreme again.
