Celtics

Jayson Tatum: ‘People Just Judge Me Off Whether I Can Win A championship’

The Boston Celtics superstar has come to terms with being evaluated differently than other higher-caliber players.

He says a big part of people judging him would be leading his franchise to a championship and winning it all; he led them to the 2022 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.

“I understand that, no matter what I do in the regular season, I’m at that point where people just judge me off whether I can win a championship,” Tatum said. “I realize that, and it’s like, all right, I just gotta do it.”

In his goal of wanting to win a championship, he now has the mindset of allowing the game to come to him. Instead of trying to get himself started off fire-hot, he wants his teammates to get it going early.

“Earlier, I was playing the game just to play the game instead of just thinking it,” Tatum said. “Now, I go out there, and I understand who we’re playing against. I know their scheme, what they’re trying to do, which guys are in or out the lineup.

Tatum said he is able to relax and have full control of the fourth quarter.

“Learning from experience, I understand that I’m good enough that I can relax and defer a little bit,” he added. “Then, the fourth quarter comes, and I know I can score 20 in the quarter.”