Boston Celtics starting small forward Jayson Tatum says he wants to be “one of the best.”

Tatum — entering his third year in the NBA — says even though his stats were better last season compared to his rookie year, knows he didn't make the jump “the rest of the world expected.”

“I want to be one of the best,” Tatum said, via Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. “There’s a lot of challenges that come with that. I’m excited.

“Man, it’s hard to pinpoint one thing from last season. All my stats were better, I did better, just not the jump that I expected — and the rest of the world expected. Which, I should have known with the team, the dynamics —  we had so many guys, so many talented people trying to win a championship and everybody had to sacrifice and step back a little bit. It didn’t work.”

With All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Al Horford gone, the Celtics are going to be expecting a lot more from Jayson Tatum next season. The talented swingman is ready for a bigger role in Boston.

Last season, Tatum averaged 15.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 45.0 percent from the field, 37.3 percent from beyond the arc and 85.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Expect Tatum to average close to 20.0 points per game next season. He's too lethal of a scorer to not take the next step in his development, especially after partaking in Team USA activities.