CLEVELAND, OHIO – MARCH 04: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics celebrates with teammates during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on March 04, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Celtics defeated the Cavaliers 112-106. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Jayson Tatum will be with his team as the NBA season restarts in Orlando, but he’s not feeling great about it.
Jayson Tatum has made the decision to link up with Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics as they fight for their first Eastern Conference championship in over a decade, but he didn’t give a ringing endorsement to the NBA’s plan to finish out the season.
Per Tom Westerholm of MassLive, Tatum said that he will join the Celtics in Orlando, but he is “not excited about it.”
Jayson Tatum is starting to emerge as a legitimate superstar.
With Kyrie Irving now in Brooklyn, Tatum has been allowed to possess the ball and create his own shot more. The result was Tatum earning an All-Star game nod for the first time in his career — he averaged 23.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game despite only turning 22 midway through the season.
The Celtics stand at 43-21, good for third place in the Eastern Conference, so every single one of these games is going to be meaningful. While the Celtics and their fans probably don’t want to hear their second-best player express doubts over the plan to finish out the season, Tatum is far from a lone wolf, as a handful of fellow NBA players have opted out of the season due to their own fears about their health and safety.
Boston’s first game in the abbreviated end to the regular season will come on July 31 when they take on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Tatum has a chance to lead his Celtics to postseason glory, all the while reaffirming that he is one of the best young players in the league at any position. While Tatum will honor his commitment to his teammates, he is doing so after publically expressing concerns about the validity of this whole ordeal.