The Celtics won their 18th NBA title in franchise history in front of their home crowd when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. And as much as Jayson Tatum enjoyed winning at TD Garden, he admitted he would have preferred to win in Dallas.
“I would have preferred to win on the road, honestly,” Tatum said during an interview collaboration with ThreeFourTwo Productions and NBA 2K. “Just because I know what it felt like for somebody to win a championship on my home court. I wanted that get back. I wanted to win in Dallas because I saw the Warriors win on our home court and that (expletive) was devastating.”
The Celtics fell to the Golden State Warriors in 2022 when Steph Curry and company defeated Boston in Game 6 of the Finals at TD Garden. Tatum and the rest of the Celtics watched as the visiting team celebrated with their families and the Larry O’Brien Trophy was hoisted.
BetMGM BET UP TO $1,500! BONUS BET REFUND AFTER A LOSS
STATES: AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MI, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21 years of age or older to wager. MA Only. New Customer Offer. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets. Bonus bets expire 7 days from issuance. In Partnership with MGM Springfield. Play it smart from the start with GameSense. GameSenseMA.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org. US Promotional Offers not available in New York.
Even though the Celtics didn’t sweep Dallas, Tatum said winning a title “felt like a breath of fresh air” and that a weight was lifted from him.
“For me the most satisfying thing about winning is that in the social media age that we live in and turn on the TV, there’s so many things that they can debate,” Tatum said. “Is he the best player? Is he top-5 or whatever? They can’t debate that I won a championship. That’s something that they never can take from me.”
“I sleep so much better at night because it would keep me up,” he added. “I honestly don’t care what they say anymore because the thing that they said I couldn’t do, I did it and they can’t take that away.”
With the Celtics bringing back much of the same roster for next season, they’re already the favorites to win the 2024-25 NBA championship.
