LeBron James was all praise for the Boston Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum. The Los Angeles Lakers star believes Tatum has achieved immense success at a very young age and expectations from him are high. James also mentioned the fact that he was surrounded by a good team and the Celtics front office has done a great job with the recruitment.
James and JJ Redick discussed several topics in the first episode of the Mind The Game podcast. They talked about how Stephen Curry has influenced the NBA like Patrick Mahomes influenced the NFL. James also mentioned his desire to own an NBA franchise and poach the OKC front office. The pair also touched on the career of Tatum.
James said, “He’s 25 years old and I believe he’s been to the conference finals four times, been to the NBA Finals once, he’s 25 years, I didn’t win my first one until I was 28, I think [Jokic] won his first one at 27, I think [Michael Jordan] was 28 as well.
LeBron speaks highly of Jayson Tatum in this clip
Also says Celtics got “Porzingis and Jrue for a bag of Lays potato chips”😭😭 pic.twitter.com/t7D07udN9r
— ²³𝙻𝚎𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜🏀☄️🌎💞 (@BronGotGame) March 19, 2024
“I think we have a lot of expectations on [Tatum], but he’s experienced a lot of winning in his career so far. Obviously, everyone wants to see him get over the hump, but four conference finals and a Finals appearance before the age of 26 is – that’s elite,” he added.
Jayson Tatum represented Duke University before being drafted as the 3rd pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Celtics. He is a 5x NBA All-Star (2020–2024) and an Olympic gold medallist. Tatum has reached four conference finals and one NBA final. However, the Ring has still eluded him. James believes they are in a position to make another title run and his team will help him.
LeBron James claims Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday were shrewd signings by the Celtics
According to James, “… Personnel helps. Add [Kristaps] Porzingis and getting Jrue [Holiday] for a bag of Lay’s potato chips, that helps as well. But when you go and you start scouting for Boston, [Tatum’s] the No. 1 guy, for sure.”
Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams are probably the players James called a “bag of Lay’s potato chips” as they were included in the trade for Holiday. Surely the pair was not expecting to hear something like this. Moreover, according to FOX59, “the Celtics also had to send two first-round picks (2024 via Golden State Warriors, 2029 unprotected) along with the two players in exchange for Holiday.”
The Celtics are trading Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon, 2024 GSW 1st, 2029 unprotected BOS first to the Blazers, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/gx53jyH1RG
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 1, 2023
Porzingis, on the other hand, was part of a three-team deal. This deal resulted in Marcus Smart moving to the Memphis Grizzlies and Tyus Jones to the Washington Wizards.
Boston Celtics lead the Eastern Conference with the help of Jayson Tatum and Co.
Boston Celtics have been phenomenal this season as they are head and shoulders above the rest in the Eastern Conference. Jayson Tatum has been particularly fantastic as he averages over 27 points per game this season with over 35 minutes per game played.
He has received some solid support from the names mentioned by James. Porzingis averages over 20 ppg while Holiday averages over 12 ppg. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White have also been instrumental in the Celtics’ playoff qualification.
The Boston Celtics are 54-14 heading into their clash against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. In their last match, they comfortably defeated the Detroit Pistons 119-94.