Jayson Tatum explained why he preferred to win the title in Dallas

Celts

Jayson Tatum said he was still on a high after leading the Celtics to their first title since 2008 last month.

The Celtics have achieved their goal of winning all of it, and Tatum said in a recent interview with “The Old Man and the Three” that he now feels a certain sense of relief because Boston has won.

“Winning a championship was like a breath of fresh air,” Tatum said. “Like the weight of expectations was lifted and you accomplished something that very few people in history have done. It's like you're in a room with champions and they know what that moment feels like.”

“They know what the rush feels like when you're in it,” Tatum added. “They know what it took to get to that moment. To be in that place, in that room, with people you looked up to and wanted to emulate, and now you can say you won a championship like them.”

The Celtics defeated the Mavericks in five games to win the title. And nearly as good as the house win felt, Tatum said he wished the Celtics had accomplished the sweep and won the title on the road in Dallas.

“Honestly, I would have preferred to win away,” Tatum said. “Simply because I know how it feels when someone wins a championship on my home court. I wanted to get that back. I wanted to win in Dallas because I saw the Warriors win on our home court, and that [expletive] was devastating.”

A'ja Wilson, a two-time WNBA champion with the Las Vegas Aces who will appear alongside Tatum on the cover of NBA 2K25's All-Star Edition, also talked about how it felt to lose in the final round.

“I used to be so used to having confetti rain down on me and I could have a good time, it was this big moment,” Wilson said. “But when that confetti falls on you and it's not for you, it hurts. I'm like, oh my god, that's awful, I need to tear it up. But I feel every athlete has to undergo that, I feel like everyone has to undergo that to be great.”

Tatum, who reached multiple conference finals and lost to the Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals, said he can sleep better now that he is finally a champion.

“For me, probably the most satisfying thing about winning is that within the age of social media that we live in, after we activate the TV, there are such a lot of things to debate,” Tatum said. “Is he the very best player? Is he in the highest five or whatever? They can't deny that I won a championship. That's something they’ll never take away from me.”

“I sleep a lot better at night since it keeps me awake. I truthfully don't care what they are saying because I did what they told me to not do they usually can't take that away from me.”