Jayson Tatum hungry for more after breakthrough Boston Celtics success

BOSTON – The Boston Celtics are hungry for more titles as they prepare to launch the defence of their National Basketball Association (NBA) crown when the new season tips off on Oct 22, said Jayson Tatum.

After years of agonising near misses and play-off disappointments, Tatum and the Celtics ended a 16-year title drought in June to claim a record-breaking 18th NBA championship.

Tatum told reporters at the Celtics media day on Sept 24 he hoped Boston’s victory last season was only the beginning of a new era of success for the team.

“It was never just about just trying to win one, right?” Tatum said.

“Now you get to be at least in the same room with the other Celtics, great teams, the other great players.

“All the guys that I looked up to growing up, at least won one championship. So now it’s just a conversation of how great are you trying to be? What tier you’re trying to be mentioned in when it’s all said and done?”

Tatum, a member of the United States’ gold-medal winning squad at the Paris Olympics, added that heading into the new season as NBA champions was a “different” feeling.

“It does feel different being up here as a champion and knowing what it takes, and wanting to be on the top of the mountain as many times as you can,” the 26-year-old added.

“The important thing is being proud of what we did last season, and last year was amazing. We were an incredible team, and we made history.”

The Celtics will tackle the 2024-25 campaign with the bulk of last season’s championship-winning roster intact.

Former Celtics coach and now president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, said he had no hesitation in using effectively the same squad this season.

“Generally, I wouldn’t mind a tweak or two just because I think that those things can galvanize you, can give you a jolt, can give you the juice that you need,” Stevens said.

“But I think that these guys are galvanised by each other. They have a unique chemistry and they deserve the opportunity to attack this challenge together.”

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla meanwhile said the coming season represented a test of his team’s “internal motivation”.

“We want to win a championship every single year – that’s the goal, that’s the standard, that’s the expectation,” he said.

“We have to have an open mindset, not a fixed mindset. Just because something worked before doesn’t mean it’s going to work again. That’s the challenge.

“It tests you. Being in a situation like this tests why you do what you do – because you can’t only do it for the good times.

“But I think going through successes and failures kind of tests your internal, intrinsic motivation as to what you’re really going after.”

Boston open the season against the New York Knicks on Oct 22.

However, they will be without centre Kristaps Porzingis, who is targeting a December return from off-season ankle surgery.

“The expectation is sometime in December,” he told ESPN on Sept 24. “But I’m feeling really good and I’m working towards hopefully playing earlier than that.”

The original timetable for his return from his surgery in late June was five to six months. His injury occurred during the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, which the Celtics won in five games.
AFP, REUTERS