The Boston Celtics are one of the most historic franchises in the history of American sports. They’ve won 18 championships—more than any other team in NBA history—and are looking to go back-to-back this year. Jayson Tatum has been the best player on the team for years, and while he has an incredible roster around him, his progression has been amazing to watch.
Jaylen Brown won the Finals MVP award last season, but Tatum led the Celtics in points, rebounds, and assists throughout the entire playoff run. He became the sixth player to ever achieve that feat while winning a championship, joining LeBron James (3x), Larry Bird (2x), Hakeem Olajuwon (2x), Tim Duncan, and Nikola Jokic.
And according to Tatum himself, he’s made it his goal to chase one of those players.
Jayson Tatum is chasing Larry Bird
Bird is widely regarded as one of the best players in NBA history and, outside of perhaps Bill Russell, the best Celtic to ever don the green and white.
But now that Tatum has won a championship, his next goal is to chase legacy. Bird’s legacy. (H/t Bobby Krivitsky of Forbes)
“I think you just realize at a certain point that you might be on the trajectory of whatever people want to call it," Tatum said on NBC Sports Boston after the Celtics' win over the Philadelphia 76ers. "Have a legendary career, be an all-time great, whatever. And you see the impact that he had on the game of basketball and, obviously, with the Celtics. Winning three championships, three MVPs in a row, which is incredible. You just subtly start to see that we both scored 60 points in a game. You start getting mentioned in, ‘The only other Celtic to do this.'
Jayson Tatum on when he decided to chase Larry Bird to become the best Celtic ever:
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) February 21, 2025
“Once you win a championship, it’s like alright, you can be in those rooms with the Celtics legends. But it doesn’t just stop at one. You’ve obviously got to win multiple, and that’s what we’re… pic.twitter.com/QxbBMjapC3
“And once you win a championship, it’s like, alright, you can be in those rooms with the Celtics legends. But it doesn’t just stop at one. You’ve obviously got to win multiple, and that’s what we’re trying to do. And I always wanted to be the best. And he’s, in my opinion, the best Celtic ever, and he did it the right way, and he’s a great guy to chase in a sense.”
Tatum has been the face of the Celtics franchise for years now. Alongside Brown, he’s led the organization to a ton of success, highlighted by the 2024 NBA Championship. But he’s far from done.
At just 26 years old, soon to be 27, Tatum has plenty of time to continue to chase greatness. He’s already achieved his first goal of bringing a title to Boston. Now, he wants more.