How fast does life move in the NBA? At this time two years ago, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics were just a couple of months removed from breaking through to Banner 18. To reach the mountaintop, the final foe in their way was Luka Doncic.
Since then, think about how much has changed for these two stars in such short order. In a basketball universe that moves at warp speed, June 2024 was a lifetime ago.
Since they squared off in the NBA Finals, stability has eluded Doncic. Being the centerpiece of what is arguably the most infamous trade in sports history is hard to top. But what's perhaps even more stunning is that he is now on his fifth and sixth owners in eight years.
Lakers' sale piles onto Doncic's career instability
At $12.5 billion, the Los Angeles Lakers sold for a record-breaking price for a North American sports franchise. For the individual the team is building around, it's an ownership transfer that means going from playing for Mark Cuban to seeing Patrick Dumont become lead governor of the Dallas Mavericks; in LA, there has been Jeanie Buss, a cameo from Mark Walter, and now he's getting introduced to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner.
Have you seen the Cleveland Browns fan with a jersey listing all of their quarterbacks since their revival in 1999? It reads like a CVS receipt.
Complete with Driskel.
— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) January 7, 2024
Unbelievable effort!#Browns pic.twitter.com/uNR0DGPw7m
The number of owners who have, or will now get to enjoy calling Doncic the face of their franchise, is starting to feel like another version of this.
It's a rare reality for someone who led his team to the NBA's brightest stage at 25. At that age, he was already a five-time All-NBA First Team selection.
Since then, the only aspect of his professional life that hasn't changed is his generational talent. There was an out-of-nowhere blockbuster, sending him to Los Angeles in the middle of the night. A dramatic physical transformation, and ownership continuing to cycle through a revolving door.
That is a lot to go through. Sometimes, change is for the better. Time will tell whether that applies to Iger and Kushner taking the reins of the NBA's glamour franchise. However, Doncic has had to build his entire career without ever standing on solid ground. It's a turbulent title path that Jayson Tatum has been fortunate to avoid.
Tatum benefits from the stability Doncic never had
Yes, the Celtics also underwent an ownership change. However, Wyc Grousbeck is still involved with the organization. He's another figure who has been in Boston throughout the six-time All-Star's tenure.
The shining example of this is in the front office. It's an elite operation, largely thanks to continuity. Some of these individuals have helped run the operation for nearly a decade, if not longer. Mike Zarren, the team's vice president of basketball operations, started as an intern and became an assistant general manager in 2003-04.
Even from a coaching standpoint, which included Ime Udoka's abrupt departure, Tatum has only had three bench bosses in Boston. He started with Brad Stevens, went to the Finals with Udoka, and has now played for Joe Mazzulla for four years. Most notably, that includes knocking off Doncic to become a champion.
Since the Celtics made the former Duke star the third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, he has been fortunate to be a part of an organization where so many of the stars behind the scenes are lifers. Even if some of the most recognizable figures have changed roles, from Grousbeck to Brad Stevens, a lot of those involved at the start of Tatum's professional journey are still there.
Even from a roster standpoint, he and Jaylen Brown led one of the most successful eras in franchise history. They teamed together for nearly a decade before a move Doc Rivers just noted would have driven Tommy Heinsohn crazy. And while Boston's no exception to seeing players swap uniforms at the rate Doncic finds himself with new owners, there's a synergy that exists between him, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Sam Hauser.
They've been together on a voyage through playoff heartbreaks and triumphs. Now, they remain alongside each other at the start of a fresh chapter. Yet for all that has changed, the stability that has been a hallmark of Tatum's career remains present in every corner of the Celtics' organization.
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