And Now, Jayson Tatum Starts To Reap The Rewards Of Being A Champion

The perceptions around Tatum have changed rapidly

When Jayson Tatum won the NBA championship with Boston 10 days ago, it changed things for the former Duke star.

Remember what Kyrie Irving said about playing in Boston? He called it a cult and that some people, including himself, couldn’t handle it.

There are some people who can though. What Boston has is a beautiful legacy, perhaps best summed up by what Bill Russell says here.

Winning championships is the standard for the Celtics and now that Tatum has done that, the perceptions are different.

Trae Young thinks that Tatum will be in the conversations for league MVP next season. That’s great, but what’s even better is getting the seal of approval from Celtic legend Kevin McHale, who said this:

“I thought they matured a lot. A couple of years ago, if Tatum had that type of shooting night, I’d be scared to death. He’d try to bust seams at the elbow, turn a dribble into two guys, turning the ball over at the top of the key, at the elbow and try to force stuff.

“[Tatum] just made passes, and I was like, ‘Wow, all right. So you’re playing the flow of the game.’ You’re not playing for your numbers; you’re not playing for all those things. You’re playing for the flow of the game, and the flow of the game just dictates where the ball rolls.”

Getting approval from a peer like Young is great, but from McHale, who knows very well what it means to succeed as a Celtic, at the highest possible level of the sport?

Priceless.