As Jayson Tatum made Celtics history Saturday against the Nets, the venue felt like a natural spot. While Tatum is in his seventh season in the NBA, his journey started when he was taken third overall by the Celtics in the 2017 NBA Draft at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Now six-plus years later, Tatum became the youngest Celtics player to hit the 10,000-point milestone. He led the C’s with 32 points in their 124-114 win over the Nets on Saturday as the face of the franchise and the team’s best player. The 25-year-old has come a long way, but he also revealed he had some reservations about joining the C’s on that big night.
“I didn’t even want to come (to Boston) because I didn’t think I was going to play,” Tatum said, via NBC Sports Boston. “They had Gordon (Hayward), (Jaylen Brown) and Isaiah Thomas and (Marcus) Smart. I didn’t think I was good enough to be on that team. So it didn’t even cross my mind I’d close the game out or I’d finish. I was more concerned about getting in the game than starting.”
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Now, to be fair to Tatum, guys taken that high in the lottery don’t get opportunities like him often. Rebuilding teams are usually drafting blue-chip prospects like Tatum. But the Celtics held the Nets’ draft pick from that huge Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett trade. Originally, they had the first overall pick, only for then-president Danny Ainge to trade down to the third pick to take their guy in Tatum.
As Tatum pointed out, the Celtics were already plenty successful when he joined the team. They were coming off a 53-29 record, the best mark in the East, as they made it to the conference finals. Tatum himself had no trouble seeing the court in his rookie season, starting all 80 games and averaging 30.5 minutes.
Since then, Tatum’s improved on his numbers every season. He’s coming off back-to-back first-team All-NBA selections and is regarded as one of the best players in the league. So it all worked out for Tatum and the Celtics.
“Things happen for a reason and I got my opportunity,” Tatum said. “It’s been a long process. I’ve had to learn through the ups and downs through my mistakes of late-game decisions or whatever it may be. Just growing pains. Play in enough games, being in a lot of playoff series, you learn.”
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