As a 4x NBA champion, Draymond Green knows more than most about what it takes to win at the highest level of competition. So after Jayson Tatum captured his first championship on Monday, Draymond made sure to give him a call and get his thoughts on the experience.
“I called him yesterday and he had the trophy, smiling from ear to ear. And he just holding the trophy. He said to me, ‘I don’t know what I thought this was gonna feel like but whatever I thought it’s way better.’ And the thoughts you have of winning a championship are pretty high,” said Green. “And I just called him number one to say congratulations. But number two I said to him, ‘I just need to feel this energy because I know what it’s like.’ When you’re around someone who just won a championship, the vibrations that you catch from them, their frequency level is at an all-time high.”
Tatum, 26, is fresh off his first championship run after beating the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals. While he wasn’t named MVP in the series (that honor went to his teammate Jaylen Brown), he was still a critical part of the team going 16-3 through all four rounds.
With the championship parade set for later this week, Tatum and the Celtics are taking the time to relish their championship and savor the moment for as long as possible. As a 4x champion himself, Draymond knows all too well what it’s like to be in this position.
The 4x All-Star was been an important part of a dynasty for years and he had more time at the top alongside 2x MVP Stephen Curry than most players will ever see in their careers.
Sadly, the glory days are a thing of the past for the Warriors. This past season, they finished 10th in the West and couldn’t even make it out of the play-in tournament. Klay is washed up and threatening to leave, Stephen Curry is in decline, and Draymond can barely keep his temper in check during games.
For a team that’s lost its way, seeing Tatum with that championship glow may have been exactly what Draymond needed to snap back to form and pull his team out of the gutter.
Jayson Tatum Says The Celtics Were Always Worthy
With a title now secured, Tatum’s legacy has reached an entirely new level. While he may not be better than Nikola Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo, his talents and leadership are clearly among the best and he has rightfully earned his place as one of the best players in the game.
After winning Game 5, he sent a message directly to the doubts and explained how all his team really needed was time.
“We were always good and talented,” Tatum said via ESPN. “The game needed to slow down. We got to the conference finals two out of our first three years, and it just seemed like we were all so much older than we actually are. Everybody was like, ‘Oh, they didn’t win it. They can’t play together. They should trade him.’ And I was always like, ‘I just turned 26 and he’s 27.’ Nobody wanted to give us no time.”
The Celtics have endured rumors and doubt from all corners of the community but they had reached its climax after losing in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals. Fortunately, Tatum has since redeemed that loss and has proven to the world that he’s someone who can compete for championships over many years to come.
