Jayson Tatum gushes about relationships he’s built with Celtics, ‘can’t imagine’ leaving

Just months removed from winning his first NBA title, Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum implied that he sees himself remaining in Boston for the long haul.

“Time flies,” Tatum told Andscape. “I was drafted in 2017… My son was born here. I bought my first car here. And for me, I admire and love the relationships I’ve built within the organization, all the coaches that I’ve had, obviously, the front office, security guards, trainers, chefs, the fans, the people that work at the Garden, the ball boys that do our laundry. The relationships I’ve built over the last seven, eight years, I can’t imagine starting over and leaving them or this place.”

For as much flak as Tatum got for his subpar 3-point shooting in the 2024 NBA Playoffs — he shot just 28.3 percent from deep — he has a compelling case as the Celtics’ best player during the team’s title run. He led the way for Boston in points (25.0), rebounds (9.7) and assists (6.3) per game across 19 playoff appearances.

Ever since Tatum has been on the roster, the Celtics have consistently advanced deep into the playoffs year in and year out. Over the past seven seasons, Boston has played in five Eastern Conference Finals and a pair of NBA Finals. Before Tatum helped the Celtics capture the NBA’s biggest prize, Boston fell to the Golden State Warriors in the championship series back in 2022.

One would be hard-pressed to find a team that has experienced more playoff success than the Celtics since Tatum’s NBA career kicked off. The Warriors are the lone team to have won multiple titles during that seven-year span, as Golden State also won a championship in 2018 when it had Kevin Durant on its roster.

The Celtics’ current roster is set up for future success. Boston has maybe the best starting lineup in basketball when at full strength, as Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis are all All-Star caliber players. On top of a starting five that’s great on both ends of the court, Boston has a deep bench with the likes of Payton Pritchard, Al Horford, Sam Hauser and Xavier Tillman Sr.

Boston seems to have a real shot at becoming the first team to win back-to-back titles in years, and it’s hard to believe that Tatum would be in a better position to win another title in 2025 if he were with any other team. With all that in mind, one can understand where Tatum was coming from when he claimed that he couldn’t imagine himself leaving Boston.