Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum became the first player to take home the Larry Bird award.
With the Boston Celtics punching their ticket to the NBA Finals, their best player, Jayson Tatum, became the first recipient of the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP award.
As part of the NBA’s 75th anniversary season, many former great players have had new trophies and awards named after them. The Bird award goes to the best player in the Eastern Conference Finals, while the team that wins the east takes home additional trophy named after another Celtics great in Bob Cousy. It is only fitting the Celtics brought home these awards in their debuts.
Congratulations to Tatum on being able to make sure the Bird award starts off its incredible journey from Boston.
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is first player to ever win the Larry Bird award
It was a hard-fought battle for Tatum and the Celtics, as they needed all seven games to beat the Miami Heat in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals. This is Boston’s first trip back to the NBA Finals since 2010. The Celtics are on the precipice of winning their first league championship in 14 years, but they must take four games from the Golden State Warriors, who are very used to this.
This is such a great opportunity for Tatum. If the Celtics beat the Warriors in the NBA Finals, he becomes an undisputed top-five player in the game today and an unquestioned superstar. Just getting to this point is a massive step in the right direction for him in building that narrative anyway. Then again, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Boston is all about winning championships.
The really cool part in all this is Tatum and the Celtics are not expected to beat the Warriors. Golden State’s core of Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson are looking to get that ring for the pinky. This is the sixth trip to the NBA Finals for the Steve Kerr era Warriors. It may be untrodden territory for this core of Celtics players, but Boston is synonymous with winning titles.
No player has more to gain from the NBA Finals than Tatum winning his first league championship.