Celtics’ Jayson Tatum says title ends ‘debate’ over specific position

LAS VEGAS – After winning an NBA title and signing a record contract extension over the weekend, Jayson Tatum arrived in Sin City for his first Team USA training camp practice on Monday sporting a new haircut and feeling like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. yes.

“100 percent,” Tatum said shortly after taking part in his first practice here since being excused from the first two days of preparation for the Paris Olympic Games. “To be the subject of discussion in so many debates or whatever… ‘Can he lead a team? Is he one of the top five players?’

“I think there’s still a lot of things they can debate. But now I’ve done something they can’t debate: I’ve won a championship. Keeping it in my possession, obviously. It’s still up for discussion or whatever people want to say, but they always have to refer to me as an NBA champion.”

There’s no debating that, Tatum and the Celtics went 16-3 in the postseason and led the NBA with 64 regular season wins – second only to the 2017 Golden State Warriors’ 16-1 mark in the league in terms of playoff wins. Percentage since going into four seven-game rounds in the playoffs.

Tatum said last month’s championship parade was “the best two hours of my life” and that it’s hard to explain how “crazy” the atmosphere and energy was in the city that day, when Boston was happy to beat its all-time rivals, Los Angeles. Was. Lakers, to become the NBA leader with 18 championships.

But if anyone was wondering whether the Celtics – specifically, coach Joe Mazzulla – would relax after winning their first championship, Tatum made it clear that won’t be the case.

“Joe is already trying to prepare for next season,” Tatum said with a smile. “And I was like, ‘Joe, f— that. We just won a championship. Enjoy it. Relax.’

“Like, I’m not worried about any set he’s trying to put on right now. We laughed at it, because he’s so driven — which we all are, but it’s like, man, we We worked hard for this so we should enjoy it.”

Tatum is also enjoying a remarkable level of roster continuity for Boston next season. The team has already re-signed Luke Kornet, Neemias Quetta and Xavier Tillman in free agency and signed both Tatum and All-Defensive Team guard Derrick White to long-term contract extensions.

So far, Boston has retained 13 of 15 players from its championship-winning roster, with Oshay Brissett and Svi Mykhailiuk replaced by first-round pick Baylor Scheierman. No one is happier about it than Tatum, who said he expects everyone from last season’s team to return, pointing out how much team chemistry helped the Celtics.

“We had a great team,” Tatum said. “Obviously the guys that played, but the guys in our ‘be ready’ group whenever we called on them are extremely talented. I think the camaraderie that we had between us was such a close-knit team that we all got along really well. Found.

“I didn’t really want any changes. I thought we had a really good team on all fronts.”

However, one place where Boston will see change is in its ownership group. Controlling owner Vic Grousbach had announced a week earlier that he and his family would be selling their controlling stake in the franchise. It was a move that came as a surprise to practically everyone — including Tatum himself, who admitted he had no idea it was going to happen.

“I was very surprised,” Tatum said. “I hadn’t heard anything about it before, and we just won a championship. Thought everything was great. But people have to make decisions, especially him and his family. As a man, You have to respect that.”

He also said the ownership group has done a good job of reassuring everyone within the franchise that nothing will change moving forward.

What else won’t change is Tatum’s status as the face of the franchise in Boston after agreeing to a record five-year, $314 million extension.

Now, he said, the goal is to build on that first championship by winning as many wins as possible in Boston.

“I’m very grateful,” Tatum said of signing the extension. “It’s not about the money. I’ve been so fortunate to make more than I thought I could and take care of my family. So for me, just feeling that I’m wanted, that they wanted me , They wanted me for a long time, for my entire career.

“I’ve got nothing but love for the city, the fans and everyone in the organization, and we just won a championship, and I want to try to win as many as I can.”