Tatum was consummate team player

Jayson Tatum took in the whole scene at TD Garden, and wore some of it, 

after winning his first NBA championship.

(BARRY CHIN/GLOBE STAFF )

18 Jun 2024 - The Boston Globe

Gary Washburn

No more doubts, no more anxiety, no more criticism, no more disheartening postseason endings. that’s ancient history. a 10-year sojourn is complete. the boston Celtics are nba champions. 

One of the greatest teams in franchise history was constantly questioned during a dominant regular season and an even more impressive playoff run. but their resounding Game 5 victory, led by their much-maligned but gifted leader in Jayson tatum, punctuated an amazing season and erased years of painful playoff memories.

Tatum’s ability to distribute and his transformation from mostly a scorer to one of the league’s more versatile players spearheaded this remarkable postseason run. He finished the Celtics’ masterpiece season with 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists in a runaway 106-88 win.

After the Celtics celebrated with their fans on the td Garden floor, tatum walked with the Larry o’brien trophy to the locker room and yelled, “We [bleeping] did it!” He’s only 26, but he’s a grizzled nba veteran. He has played long enough to get pelted with criticism for his lack of signature games.

Is Tatum a real superstar? Can he lead his team to prosperity?

“It still really hasn’t kicked in yet,” he said. “this last seven years has been a roller coaster, I had to listen to all the [expletive] people said about me. to know that we’re going to be engraved in history and it still hasn’t registered. We did it. We won a championship. It took being relentless. It took being at your lowest point in basketball. Coming up short and having failures makes this moment so much better.”

The Celtics were coming off their worst performance of the season in Friday’s Game 4, and the discussion was filled with questions about their ability to hold a 3-0 series lead. their past, however, was not their present. they never played with their food. they closed the door on inferior teams and tatum, along with Jaylen Brown, were the leaders. they were the cornerstones.

Nearly a decade ago, Danny Ainge decided to build this franchise around consecutive third overall picks, Brown in 2016 and tatum a year later. And they immediately became contributors, withstood the Kyrie Irving era and then became All-stars, and ALL-NBA players.

Brown won the NBA Finals MVP and tatum celebrated his close friend. they embraced. they became emotional. their journey to greatness is complete.

Tatum can no longer be pigeonholed as merely a scorer or the leader of a team that can never win the big one. they won the big one. they won many big ones during this postseason run. tatum transformed his game this season, realizing he was surrounded by talent, surrounded by winners, surrounded by players who cared as much about success as he did.

And he felt the same about them. the Celtics were the consummate team, unlike some of the teams of years past. there was no selfishness. Derrick White and Jrue holiday were the perfect selfless complements. tatum and Brown decided it didn’t matter who was the primary option or the better player, as long as they contributed to team success.

There’s no reason to debate who is better. Brown won the Eastern Conference finals MVP as well as the Finals MVP. tatum led the Celtics in points, assists, and rebounds in the NBA Finals. he responded with buckets when the Celtics needed it. he helped Boston pull away in Game 5, despite the Mavericks trying desperately during this series to create a wedge between tatum and Brown. Coach Jason Kidd called for double teams and taps on tatum, challenging him to resist hero ball and get his teammates involved.

He finished with 36 assists in the series. he was the consummate team player.

“This is going to be a night that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” he said. “Over the last couple of years we’ve had some tough losses in the playoffs at home. to have a big win, the biggest win you could have in front of your home crowd.”

Tatum views Kobe Bryant as his idol. he worked out with Bryant, who died in 2020, early in his career. he mimicked some of Bryant’s moves, perhaps a little too much during his early games. But he was able to transform himself into his own player and his own man.

He got stronger with intense offseason regimens. he responded from his disappointing ’22 Finals by working on his left hand, working on his endurance and fortitude. tatum is a complete NBA player. that doesn’t mean he’s perfect or is beyond improvement, but he’s one of the best to play in the Celtics uniform.

And every great Celtic player is defined by a championship. No player has their number retired without winning a title. We may have to wait until 2040, but eventually tatum’s No. 0 will be lifted into the td Garden rafters. he will return to the Garden, joined by a grown-up Deuce and be showered with love and appreciation from the Boston faithful, love and appreciation that he has been denied in previous years because of the team’s shortcomings.

He is no longer one of the best players in the league without a championship. that title is gone, replaced by winner, leader, and franchise cornerstone.

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist.