Jayson Tatum's Honest Quote After Boston Celtics Won Game 1

Jayson Tatum met with the media after the Celtics won Game 1.

Mar 30, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during warmups before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

On Thursday evening, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics won Game 1 of the NBA Finals (at home) by a score of 107-89.

Tatum finished the victory with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists while shooting 6/16 from the field and 3/7 from the three-point range in 42 minutes of playing time.

Tatum is in his second career Finals, but after the game, he shared an extremely honest quote (h/t Celtics on NBC Sports Boston).

Tatum: "To be honest, I was nervous. I ain't gonna lie. I was nervous in like an anxious way, as like a little kid. It's surreal being in the Finals. When you're young in your career, you think you're always going to go back. Last year was like a wake-up call when we didn't make it. Getting back to this point and being here is really a big deal. We played well tonight; there's a lot of things we feel like we could do better. It definitely does feel good to win the first game, but we know that two years ago, we won the first game and you know the outcome of that series, so we still have a lot of work to do."

"To be honest I was nervous... in an anxious way... it's surreal being in the Finals."

Jayson Tatum gets honest about 'wake up call' last season when the Celtics fell short of the Finals, and the nerves he felt before the game pic.twitter.com/ki1HwwNIRx

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) June 7, 2024

The Celtics now have a 1-0 lead in the series with Game 2 back on their home floor in Boston on Sunday evening.

Following Sunday's showdown, the teams will travel to Dallas for Games 3 and 4.

Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) shoots the ball against Dallas Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr. (55) during the second half of game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Tatum has been to the Eastern Conference finals five times in his first seven seasons in the NBA.