Jayson Tatum has revealed his aspirations for the current season. And surprisingly, it is not to win the NBA MVP. Tatum has been showing some sublime form this season. The 26-year-old has been averaging 28.8 points, 5.7 assists, and 9.3 rebounds. Apart from that, Tatum has been shooting 37.2% from the three-peat range and 46.3% from the field. Thus, there has been speculation about him being a possible contender for the MVP this year.
However, the Celtics star is not keeping his individual achievements ahead of his team. “We’re a really, really good team, with so many talented players. I’m probably not going to put up the same numbers as those other guys. That’s perfectly fine with me, especially what we did in June last year. That’s the main goal, not for me to win MVP,” said Tatum while speaking to the media.
Jayson Tatum on the MVP conversation:
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) December 22, 2024
“We’re a really, really good team, with so many talented players. I’m probably not going to put up the same numbers as those other guys. That’s perfectly fine with me, especially what we did it in June last year. That’s the main goal, not… pic.twitter.com/2ILJYgqDkP
Well, Tatum’s aspirations might not be that far-fetched. The Boston Celtics have been in some great form. With an impressive win-loss record of 22-6 in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics are looking all set to secure second seed. Meanwhile, despite shining for the Celtics, Tatum wanted to play for the Los Angeles Lakers once.
Jayson Tatum’s Lakers Heartbreak
Tatum has been an ardent fan of Kobe Bryant growing up. Thus, it was quite evident that he wanted to get drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers initially. Unfortunately, the Lakers snubbed him for Lonzo Ball in 2017. While this came as a heartbreak, Magic Johnson mentioned that there was a particular reason for the same.
[Jayson Tatum’s] agent didn’t want him to work out for [the Lakers]…because we already had too many forwards
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) December 17, 2024
Magic Johnson, Lakers Pres. of Basketball Operations (Feb. 2017–Apr. 2019), tells @JumpShot8 and @TermineRadio why LA didn’t draft Jayson Tatum with the 2nd overall pick pic.twitter.com/SYQjOF3854
“I wanted to address that and let him know – yes, we looked at him, but his agent also didn’t want us to work him out because he didn’t want him to end up with the Lakers because we are already top-heavy with forwards,” Johnson stated in an episode of SiriusXM NBA. However, this did not seem to have affected Tatum much, as he is currently prospering in the Celtics.
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