In his seventh season with one of the most storied franchises in professional sports, Tatum led the Celtics to a 106-88 victory over the Dallas Mavericks to clinch a NBA-record 18th world championship. The Celtics won the best of seven series four games to one at TD Gardens in Boston on Monday night.
Tatum became the sixth player in NBA history to win the championship while leading his team in points, rebounds and assists. He joins a legendary group that includes Larry Bird, LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Nikola Jokic.
In the most important game of his career, Tatum added to the list of his stellar playoff performances with another tremendous effort in the series clinching win with 31 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists. He became the fifth player in the history of the NBA finals to have at least 30 points and 10 assists in a close out game.
Tatum was at his best in the first half as he turned in a dominant performance with 16 points, four rebounds, nine assists and no turnovers to stake the Celtics to a 67-46 lead. Tatum then closed out his big night with 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Monday night’s championship was the culmination of a brilliant seven-year run by Tatum and teammate Jaylen Brown, who was named the MVP of the Finals. Together, they have made two trips to the NBA Finals and six trips to the Eastern Conference finals.
In their first trip to the Finals in 2022, the Celtics were defeated by the veteran Golden State Warriors when Tatum and Brown were 24 and 25 years old, respectively. While many critics tried to split this dynamic duo apart, they stayed strong and stayed together through the tough times to come out on the other side as champions.
“To dream of this moment and what it would be like, it’s ten times better,” Tatum said. “I’ve been on the other side and I know what it’s like to lose and it’s the worst feeling in the world. But I think going through that made this a lot better.
“The main goal for us was to win a championship. We didn’t care who got (NBA) Finals MVP. I know that I need him through this journey and he needs me. It was great to see him have that moment and share that moment with him.”
Tatum became the sixth player in NBA history to win the championship while leading his team in points, rebounds and assists. He joins a legendary group that includes Larry Bird, LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Nikola Jokic.
Tatum, 26, also has the most playoff points scored before turning 27 in NBA history. He passed his idol, the late Kobe Bryant, with 2,695 points. He also has the fifth most career playoff points at the time of his first championship, trailing only the late LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki and the late Jerry West.
In the championship series, Tatum averaged 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists to lead the team in all three categories. During the regular season, Tatum averaged a team-high 24.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists a game as the Celtics had a NBA best 64-18 record. With each year, Tatum’s game has continued to evolve from being a big scorer to an outstanding all-around playmaker who makes his teammates better and who can impact winning in a variety of ways.
Tatum also became the third player from St. Louis to win a championship as a member of the Boston Celtics in the past 50 years. Former Vashon/McKinley High star JoJo White helped lead the Celtics to world championships in 1974 and 1976. White was the MVP of the 1976 NBA Finals. Former Soldan High star David Thirdkill was a member of the 1986 Celtics championship team that is considered one of the best teams of all time.