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Jayson Tatum on belonging in Boston with the Celtics

justin quinn
·4 min read
5

At a mere 25 years old, All-NBA Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum recently became the youngest Celtic of all time to reach 10,000 career points over the course of nearly 80 years of records being kept. In a recent interview with the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn, the St. Louis native emphasized the importance of connecting with the people of the city of Boston and the impact he has on the community, especially among underrepresented youth.

Tatum has actively engaged with the city’s residents, visiting children’s hospitals and surprising high school students, bringing joy to their faces when he encounters them in public.

With star athletes like Tom Brady and David Ortiz retired and the Patriots and Red Sox in rebuilding phases, the city is now embracing the Celtics, who are competing for the NBA championship, with Tatum as their franchise player.

“I did an interview this summer where I’ve said, where I said over the last year and a half, two years I’ve really felt that connection with the city of Boston,” said Tatum.

“When I said that, I meant the people. The people I know. The people I don’t know. The people I see at the gas station, and doing more things (in the community), going to the children’s hospital, surprising the kids at a high school. Seeing those genuine reactions, the excitement on their faces when I walked in.”

“That brought me joy,” he added. “I was happy to be there.”

“I didn’t even want to come (to Boston) because I didn’t think I was going to play,” said the Duke alum of the year he was drafted by the Celtics.

“They had Gordon (Hayward) and (Jaylen Brown) and Isaiah Thomas and (Marcus) Smart and I didn’t think I was good enough to be on that team. I was more concerned about being in the game. It’s been a long process. I’ve had to learn from the ups and downs, through my mistakes.”

“It’s a weird transition, you get drafted, right? They pick you to come here,” Tatum continued.

“It’s different. I picked what high school I wanted to go to. I picked whether I wanted to go to Duke,” said Tatum. “I’ve always kind of been a St. Louis kid, that’s where I grew up. That’s just where I felt comfortable.”

“So being 19, it was an adjustment. But you realize my son was born in Boston, I bought my first house, my car; my mom lives in Boston. I’ve spent almost a third of my life (here).”

“You really start to think about all those things and the relationships that I’ve built in the organization and people in the city,” he admitted. “You really start to feel like you’re a part of something.”

With the way Boston has been leveling teams to start their 2023-24 season and the earlier, aborted runs at hanging Banner 18, it’s getting harder by the day to temper expectations for Tatum and his Celtics.

But he is most certainly a part of something — something Boston has been waiting quite a long time for and will remember far, far longer.

Jayson Tatum more than belongs in this city — it’s become part of him, and he of it.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire