Jayson Tatum reached new heights as he completed his seventh NBA season last month with the Boston Celtics. After frustrating playoff losses to the Golden State Warriors and the Miami Heat the past two seasons, Tatum and the Celtics finally reached the promised land when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. Tatum and his teammates finally had their NBA championship, and brought the championship trophy home to Boston for the first time since 2008.
Tatum has continued his brilliant run as he is a part of the U.S. Olympic basketball team that will begin competition in Paris. He will play an important role on a team that is expected to bring home the gold medal in the sport.
While Tatum was absolutely thrilled to win the title this year, he admitted there was a part of bringing home the title that left him with a bit of a sad feeling for previous teammates that were no longer a part of the Celtics. Tatum pointed out that winning the title without former Celtics Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III left him with a heavy heart.
“The toughest part about winning this championship is that Smart isn’t here and Rob isn’t here. But I’m so happy that we have Jrue (Holiday) and KP (Kristaps Porzingis). Those guys obviously took us to the next level.”
Smart was sent to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team deal that brought Porzingis to the Celtics. Williams was sent to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Holiday trade.
Smart had been an extremely valuable Celtic before his trade
Smart was considered to be one of the heart-and-soul type of players with the Celtics during his nine years with the team. He had regularly manned the point guard position with the Celtics and was known for his powerful defensive play and ability to come up with big steals at key moments. He also had some big offensive moments, but he was not as consistent on that side of the ball.
Williams had been an outstanding shot blocker, rebounder and defender with the Celtics, but injuries had been an issue for him. He played five seasons for the Celtics, but was held to 35 games in 2022-23 and he played in just 6 game for the Blazers last season
Losing both players who were such valuable Celtics during their tenure was painful to Tatum and other Celtics, but Holiday and Porzingis came up huge for Boston.
Holiday is also playing on Team USA, and he was sensational for the Celtics in a way that did not always show up on the stat sheet. He averaged 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists, but he also played sensational defense.
Porzingis gave the Celtics a huge offensive lift, as he averaged 20.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He missed 25 games during the regular season due to injury, and he also was limited during the postseason. However, when he was able to compete in the playoffs, his scoring took pressure off Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
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