Despite brutal trolling, Jayson Tatum refuses to let ‘ego’ get in middle of championship pursuit

Jayson Tatum scored a double-double despite only scoring 18 points in the Game 2 win.

Despite brutal trolling, Jayson Tatum refuses to let ‘ego’ get in middle of championship pursuit

Jayson Tatum is not letting 'ego' get in the way of winning

Over the course of the 2023-24 playoffs, the Boston Celtics Jayson Tatum has been receiving quite a lot of criticism from fans. Despite being an MVP contender, the forward has not been the main man for the team during these playoffs. However, Tatum is not letting any of the critics stop him from achieving his ultimate goal of winning the championship.

Despite shooting poorly at just 27.3% from the field in Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals, Jayson Tatum kept himself available and played for 45 minutes in regulation. During the post-match press conference, Tatum was asked about his priority to be on the floor regardless of not scoring any big numbers. Tatum gave a great answer as he cited the 2022 championship loss.

I’ve been here before and we didn’t win. It's like we’re so close to what we’re trying to accomplish. Why would I let my ego or my need to score all the points get in the way of that?
Jayson Tatum said

Tatum further admitted that he does need to shoot better. As Jason Kidd crowned Jaylen Brown to be the best player on the Celtics, it seems Tatum is embracing his role as the playmaker. The star wants to ‘do what it takes’ in terms of his assists while being on the floor.

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Despite only scoring 18 points, Tatum managed a double-double with 12 assists and nine rebounds in the win. The 26-year-old is almost averaging in triple-doubles in the series while also contributing defensively. It seems Tatum is taking the high road for all the criticism, which is paying off as the team is up 2-0 against the Mavericks.

Jayson Tatum is motivated by the Celtics’ past losses

The Boston Celtics have been one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference for the past few years. However, despite coming extremely close, the team fell short of reaching their ultimate goal of a championship. This year, though, the team has looked different, as they had the best regular season record in the entire league.

The team dominated in the postseason, losing only two games in the first three rounds. As a result, the Celtics have reached the finals and are thriving against the Mavericks. After the win in Game 1, Tatum was asked about the motivation behind the team’s performance.

Maybe last year, us losing in the conference finals. Maybe I just expected that after we lost in 22 that it was guaranteed that we were just going to keep coming back, and this is like our time. Last year it was just kind of a wake-up call to not take anything for granted, because you never know how many opportunities that you might have.
Jayson Tatum said

The Celtics lost the conference finals last year and the NBA Finals the year before. But this year, the chances of winning are higher as the team is already up 2-0 in the best-of-seven game series. With Tatum keeping his mindset steady, it seems the star is only two wins away from claiming his first NBA title.

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