(Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics made the decision to use their third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to select Jayson Tatum.
Jayson Tatum has become the cornerstone player for the Celtics over the last six years.
Tatum also led the Celtics to the 2022 NBA Finals, but lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
While the 25-year-old has only improved his skills over the years, the Celtics have a lot of trust in him.
Although the Celtics have trusted Tatum since Day 1, the veteran forward shared his thoughts on getting drafted to the team via Celtics on NBC Sports Boston on Twitter.
“First of all, I didn’t even want to come (To Boston) because I didn’t think I was going to play. They had Gordon, JB, IT, Smart, I didn’t think I was good enough to be on that team,” Tatum said.
“First of all, I didn’t even want to come (to Boston) because I didn’t think I was going to play. They had Gordon, JB, IT, Smart, I didn’t think I was good enough to be on that team.”
Jayson Tatum asked about getting drafted in Barclays Center back in 2017 pic.twitter.com/7VvLi0Sw3W
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) November 5, 2023
Despite becoming the franchise player for the Celtics, Tatum revealed he didn’t want to play for the team.
It wasn’t that Tatum didn’t like the organization, he simply believed that the Celtics already had too much talent on the roster.
After all, at the time, the Celtics had the likes of Gordon Hayward and Isaiah Thomas on the roster.
In the season prior to Tatum being drafted, Thomas averaged 28.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game.
On the other hand, Hayward put up 21.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.
Each player was an NBA All-Star in those seasons, and in hindsight, it makes sense that Tatum believed it would be a tough job for him to crack the starting lineup as a rookie.
Fast forward to now, Tatum is averaging 30.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game for the Celtics this season.
He’s one of the top candidates to win the NBA MVP in the 2023-24 season.
The post Jayson Tatum Makes Surprising Admission About Playing For Celtics appeared first on The Cold Wire.