Jayson Tatum sent a text to the phone of the late Kobe Bryant last Sunday before he and the Boston Celtics took on the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
“I got you today,” is what Tatum wrote. Tatum scored a team-high 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished out six assists to lead the Celtics to a 100-96 victory and a berth in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.
Game 1 of the series is at 7 p.m. tonight, June 2, 2022, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr knows stopping Tatum is paramount for his team.
“[He’s] one of the very best in the league for sure. He can beat you in a lot of different ways and has a combination of size, skill, and speed, it is very rare.
Obviously, he’s a key guy for them.” Tatum, who will be making his first NBA Finals appearance, forever linked his name with one of the greatest players in NBA history with his Eastern Conference Final performance
Tatum was selected as the inaugural winner of Larry Bird Trophy, which went to the Most Valuable Player of the ECF. Bird was a legendary forward who led the Celtics to world championships in 1981, 1984, and 1986. It seemed fitting that the first winner of the trophy named after him would go to another talented 6’9” forward who plays for the Celtics. For the series, he averaged 25 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists while shooting 46 percent from the field.
Tatum, who starred at Chaminade before a season at Duke, also added to his legacy as a clutch Game 7 performer. In five Game 7s in his career, Tatum has averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists a game. The Celtics are
4-1 in those games. In leading Boston to its first NBA Finals appearance in 12 years, Tatum has gone through established stars including Kevin Durant of Brooklyn, Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee, and Jimmy Butler of Miami.
“It’s an honor,” Tatum said of winning the Bird Trophy. “It still doesn’t seem real right now. I’m just extremely happy and grateful for all of this. Regardless of how long I’ve been in the league. I’m not too far removed from when I was in high school and when I was dreaming about moments like this.”
Celtics coach Ime Udoka called Tatum “the head of the snake.” All the accolades Tatum is getting are “well deserved,” said Udoka adding, “and he’s only 24 and not even touched his ceiling, not even close.”
Warriors forward Draymond Green has high praise for Tatum, and respect for the Celtics.
“Jayson Tatum is one of them guys,” Green told the San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday. “When you have that, you always have a chance to win it, when you have a guy like that. You couple that with all these pieces around him — the defense around him, the veteran leadership. You couple that with all the things around him and you look, and you say, ‘Wow, they actually have what it takes.’”
