All-NBA Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, fresh off capturing his first NBA title, just signed the biggest contract in league history, a five-year, super-max deal worth a projected $313.93MM. According to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, Tatum believes his championship has helped quiet some of the discourse surrounding him in the league at present.
“You know, just being the topic of discussion of so many debates or whatever it is. ‘Can he lead a team? Is he a top-five player?’” Tatum said. “There’s still a lot of things I guess they can debate, but I’ve done some things they can’t debate. I won a championship. I did it at the highest level. So having that under my belt, like, obviously there’s still conversations to be had or whatever people want to say, but they’ve always got to refer to me as an NBA champion.”
Tatum seemed grateful for his lucrative new extension, too.
“For me just to feel wanted, and they want me to be here and want me for the long haul,” Tatum said. “I’ll spend my whole career here and have got nothing but love for the fans, the city, and the organization. You know, we just won a championship and I want to try to win as many as I can.”
During the 2023/24 regular season, the five-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA honoree posted superlative averages of 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks across 74 contests, with a .471/.376/.833 shooting line.
There’s more out of Boston:
- Tatum’s All-Star teammate Jaylen Brown appeared miffed to have been passed over to replace Kawhi Leonard on Team USA in favor of another Celtics wing, Derrick White, Himmelsbach writes in a separate piece. Brown posted an emoj-packed tweet expressing his apparent displeasure. Sources confirmed to Brian Robb of MassLive that the 6’6″ small forward was indeed frustrated by the choice. Team USA managing director Grant Hill explained the decision on Wednesday. “This is about putting together a team,” Hill told gathered media. “Just kind of overall, you have incredible interest from an abundance of talent that we have here in the United States. I’ve talked a little about when we assembled this roster.”
- Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck recently revealed his intentions to sell his stake in the team. Now, Grousbeck has outlined some supplemental details of the plan, Robb notes in an additional article. “I want to clarify, it’s not my majority stake,” Grousbeck said. “The control of the team is owned by my family, so it’s a family that I belong to and then I have the Celtics family I also belong to, so there’s an intersection and there’s an involvement.” According to Robb, Grousbeck hopes to sell the majority of his family’s ownership stake early next year. “The plan, the expectation is to sell the team in two parts, 51 percent going fairly soon,” Grousbeck said. “49 percent then closing in a second closing, that’s the expectation in 2028. I’m planning or expected to stay on until 2028 (as governor) and we’re going to hire bankers and advisors and this is going to be quite a bidding process.”
- Grousbeck may be selling his portion of the Celtics chiefly because of long-term family estate planning, writes Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico. Boston is valued at an estimated $5.12 billion by Sportico, Novy-Williams adds.
Jaylen won a championship. Tatum just rode the bus
Bull! Jayson Tatum gave up the most of all our great players to win this 18th title! He gave up his scoring 30+ points a game. He became a willing passer. Drove thru three guys and kicked it put. He became our top rebounder. Blocked shots. And more. He did it all. Geez! Go Celtics!
…kicked it “out.”
Tatum averaged 22.2 PPG as the #1 scoring option in the NBA Finals, well below his regular season PPG – he still is massively overrated choker, while Jaylen Brown has proved the opposite, Brown is a top 10 player in this league.
Well using that same logic then Steph Curry is clearly a choker as well when he was the Dubs #1 scoring option during his first three trips to the Finals and each time he averaged less points per game than his regular season average.
2014-15: 28.3 season/ 26.o playoffs
2015-16: 25.1 season/ 22.6 playoffs
2016-17: 28.1 season/ 26.8 playoffs
Ironically Curry won two MVP awards in 2014-15 & 2015-16 and ultimately choked by your standards.
Your Chef couldn’t win a FMVP until his FIFTH trip to the Finals. Again, we’re using your idiotic logic.
Yeah because Klay Thompson doesn’t exist. Its called giving up numbers to benefit the team, its what the Celtics didn’t do in 2022 and lost to Curry from/
Everyone knows Iggy was an idiotic pick over Curry for FMVP. Also FMVPs don’t matter. Cope from you. I am right.
You’re not right about a single thing, you’re just deflecting that your precious Chef scored less in those Finals just like Tatum did.
“Yeah because Klay Thompson doesn’t exist.”
Yeah because Jaylen Brown doesn’t exist.
See how easy it is to you use your dumbass argument against you lol?
Since the topic you decided to go with is choking, how about the great 73-9 Warriors that were up 3-1 in the Finals and lost?
What? Sorry, still thinking about those 2022 Finals Tatum choked his butt off in!
Curry won “most clutch player” this season btw.
“Curry won “most clutch player” this season btw.”
Btw he looked so Clutch in this season’s playoffs.
Keep rewatching that 2022 Finals, its likely going to be a long time before the Golden State Warriors ever make it back to that round.
Oh well if Curry won Most Clutch Player, then the argument is moot.
Sorry to waste everyone’s time.
Apparently the Finals MVP award doesn’t matter but somehow Most Clutch Player does lol.
Lmao he averaged 24ppg in 2014-15 not 28. You are so dumb you cant even copy the correct numbers
@Brabo No one cares. The rest of those stats were correct and only used to point out how delusional Davey’s argument was so give yourself a nice pat on the back before running off to go play in traffic.
Ah so you are one of those guys who thinks ppg is the defining stat.
Curious what was Tatum’s rebs and assists per game during the playoffs?
Yeah get back to me when you find out.
Also, can you still be a choker if you WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP?
Just asking for a friend.
Davey’s tears taste delicious.
Jaylen Brown is another 10 player in this league! And should be miffed because he’s not on the Olympic team!
… “top 10” …
Jaylen Brown should be on the Olympic squad. He should have been on the team over Kawhi, sorry outside of 2019 when was Kawhi healthy?
Its an obvious snub. Probably from Lebron and Steph. Lebron likes Tatum, everyone likes Jrue and Derrick white will do all of their dirty work.
Jaylen would have taken over and pulled an Ant.
Its funny to see Lebron’s and Steph’s unit be bailed out by Haliburton, Tatum, Ant, AD and Bam. That was the elite unit.
Leonard was the nostalgic choice but it should have been White from the start. Brown’s a decent defender and playmaker but White is better at both. Team USA has enough scorers, White’s a good glue guy.
White’s wonderful and a team player. Love him. Belongs. But Jaylen Brown should have been on this team. A disgrace by Grant Hill or whoever chose.
Yep, must be some ingrained bias not to have Jaylen Brown on our Olympics team.
What a “nice” teammate JB is, right?
I bet you White feels really good about him being angry that got picked ahead of the “superstar”?!?!? JB, right?
that’s my concern in all of this.
Hopefully, what is happening now doesn’t carry over into camp and next season. The C’s have a shot at being really special again. If JB chooses to hold a grudge or play the snub card, then use it constructively and prove everyone wrong like he did in the post season. Maybe it’s the fuel he needs.
I doubt that any of this Olympic related drama carries over into Celtics training camp. That is just a topic that some idiot in front of a microphone is likely going to beat to death over the next few months that has no bearing in truth, just like the two Jays couldn’t play together and Tatum was mad that JB won the ECF MVP over him.
If Derrick White was asked he’d probably admit that Jaylen Brown should have been picked over him in the first place anyways and for all we know Brown probably congratulated White immediately after he was announced as Kawhi’s replacement.
Brown got screwed! Period!
Brown should have been an original selection as one of the best players in the league. But team was built early around LeBron and Curry and their relationships with other older high profile players. They wanted their own dream team. USA basketball went along with it because they wanted the big name guys. Brown needs the ball to be successful. Team already has a bunch of guys who need the ball. What they needed at this point was an on the ball guards defender with international experience who would accept a complementary role and not disrupt the current team chemistry. The team would be a lot more fun to watch and root for if they had selected and built around Brown, Brunson and Banchero instead of the fading older players they selected.
Jaylen Brown has somehow became the new NBA super villain. And I think he enjoys it and uses the motivation well. Last year it was he couldn’t dribble and didn’t deserve the Max. Now he’s the MVP for the playoffs and finals then snubbed by Lebron, Kerr, and Grant hill.
They brought in D white to have two great defending guards. Which is more of a wake up call that this Olympics is not going to be easy. The faces on Bam and Anthony Davis during the scrimmages has told that story. They will be battling defensively but will the the “Legends” be willing to bruise down low. White brings toughness to a soft group.
Jaylen Brown one of the most likable and intelligent players the league has ever seen. He’s (Tatum also) not quite arrogant or controversial enough to be considered a face of the league. I’m sure he’ll upgrade his game again next year.
If this team loses a game is it considered a failure? with the hype and disrespect towards the dream team and the Kobe team they have showed. The way this group has made themselves the self proclaimed greatest team ever assembled any win by less than 15 points is a failure in my view.
Thank you! Jaylen & Jason & Derrick are three admirable young guys with good heads on their shoulders. We just have a couple of troublemakers throwing crap up against the wall to see if any would stick. Go Celtics!
I’d rather there not be so many Celtics on the olympic team. It’s tough enough to recover from the previous season when you’re playing through the middle of June. Remember when we thought LeBron was washed up because he missed the playoffs, but then he was an absolute beast right out the gate because he had rest? None of these guys have Lebron’s conditioning/ size. They’re going to stumble out of the gate a little bit.
I’d also like to add that as a Celtics fan, I do not like to compliment Lebron James, but the truth is the truth (unless it’s Paul Pierce.)