Jayson Tatum Believes Finals Win Ends Debate On ‘Elite’ Status

Boston’s dominant 2023-2024 campaign ended with an 18th Larry O’Brien trophy, erasing skepticism on whether Jayson Tatum can lead the Celtics to a championship.

Tatum was recently rewarded with a record extension that’ll keep him in Beantown for five additional seasons, while Jaylen Brown was extended for four more seasons in 2023, keeping the duo intact until at least the 2026-2027 season. Questions arose on whether the Celtics could repeat and how they would utilize their money, but for now, Tatum is enjoying every second of being an NBA champion.

“There’s still a lot of things they can debate,” the forward said. “But I’ve now done something that they can’t debate, I’ve won a championship.”

The Boston forward said that the championship parade was “the best two hours of his life.” A good thing going for the C’s is their determination as Tatum remarked that coach Joe Mazzulla was already planning for the regular season. He jokingly told Mazzulla to settle down. “We just won the championship, like enjoy it and relax. We’re not worried about any sets that you’re trying to put in right now,” Tatum said.

Thanks to their dominant 2023-2024 season, Boston doesn’t need to polish their roster for next season. Centers Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta resigned while Xavier Tillman was branded as the squad’s only free-agent acquisition to date. First-round pick Baylor Scheierman will replace Oshae Brissett and Svi Mykhailiuk at the forward spot. The Celtics have their starting five under contract for 2024-2025. Tatum promised fans that he’ll follow up and win as many titles as he can in a Celtics uniform.