Celtics star Jayson Tatum embraces MVP talk as he feels like ‘I’m the best player’
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Celtics star Jayson Tatum embraces MVP talk because he feels like ‘I’m the best player’ every time he takes the field…
- Jayson Tatum averages 32.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game
- He also acted as the dressing room leader during Udoka’s suspension
- The 24-year-old insisted winning the MVP award would be a ‘dream come true’
- However, he insisted that his focus this season is on winning the championship
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Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has been tipped as one of the early candidates for MVP and is embracing the talk.
The 24-year-old has averaged 32.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game and has led the Celtics to a 10-3 record following the suspension of Ime Udoka for violating team rules.
“I mean, I think so,” Tatum said Yahoo Sports late Saturday. “It’s a long season. Every time I step on the floor, I feel like I’m the best player. But there are a lot of talented guys in this league.
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has been tipped as one of the prime contenders for MVP
“You want to play at the MVP level. Usually when you play at an MVP level, [you’re on] one of the best teams playing efficiently.
“The team is winning and on track to get back to the final.”
“Was it one of my dreams as a kid to win MVP? Of course,’ Tatum added. “If it happened, it would be a dream come true.
“But it wasn’t like, ‘Come back, win MVP.’ It’s like, “Come back, go to the championship.”‘
Boston fell just short of winning an NBA championship last year after being defeated by the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
As if the grueling task of returning to the Finals to try and avenge last year’s loss wasn’t hard enough, the Celtics had to deal with Udoka’s suspension just before the start of the preseason.
“Obviously, the head coach’s situation is definitely not the beginning as we imagined coming back from the final,” said Tatum. “I told the team, ‘No one will feel sorry for us.’
“We have that target on our backs, we went to the championship, that we’re going to get the best of everyone.”
Te Celtics faced a suspension (center) of Ime Udoka just before the start of the preseason
Joe Mazzulla (L) has been appointed head coach following Udoka’s suspension
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, who stepped into the role in the wake of Udoka’s suspension, was also full of praise for his young star.
“I think he’s put a lot of time into becoming a better player and investing in other areas,” said Celtics interim coach Joe Mazzulla.
And so he made a conscious effort to really stay on the defensive and figure out how the defense guards, how we can take advantage of those situations. That’s number one.
“And I think number two is the guys around them. They all want to make each other better.’
Mazzulla insisted the Celtics star has ‘put in a lot of time to become a better player’