Jayson Tatum Responds to Skepticism Over Celtics' Championship Window

Eric Jay Santos | Jul 10, 2024

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

At 26 years old, Jayson Tatum won his first NBA championship. The road to his first title included five Eastern Conference Finals appearances and two trips to the NBA Finals. 

Various skeptics negatively perceived the long term playoff success of Tatum’s Boston Celtics, as they hadn’t yet reached the ultimate goal. As captured by The Old Man and The Three, Tatum gave his thoughts on the doubters who believed the Celtics’ championship window had closed. 

“People would have that narrative ‘They’re not going to do it. They’re too young. They can’t figure it out’. To me, that’s like sustained success. It was like, it’s a matter of time until we do it. That’s how we looked at it as a unit. When you have success early, they just think you’re so much older than you are. There was so much talk of our window being closed. I just turned 26. Jaylen Brown is 27. They say that you don’t reach your prime until you’re 28.”

On Wednesday, Tatum was named the male cover athlete for NBA 2K25. This summer, the Celtics forward will be competing for an Olympic medal with the United States men’s national basketball team.

Further Reading

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Al Horford, Raising Cane's, and a Region that Loves Him

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Jayson Tatum, an NBA Champion Entering Peak of His Powers