Getty LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers talks with Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics.
On July 13, 2022, Jayson Tatum opened himself up to questions via his personal Twitter. Account. Among the many that came his way, Tatum answered one from Dan Greenberg of Barstool Sports that asked Tatum to rank three particular playoff moments during his career with the Boston Celtics – his dunk on LeBron James during the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, his Game 6 performance against the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals, and his Game 7 performance against the Miami Heat in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.
@StoolGreenie Game 6, game 7, dunk…. Subject to change in the future
Since the Celtics lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers that game, which eliminated them from the postseason that year, it would make sense that his dunk on LeBron would come last. Compared to the other two playoff moments listed, which were important playoff games that the Celtics won, it would make sense why he holds those moments in higher regard.
It also makes sense that Tatum’s performance in Game 6 against the Bucks, in which he scored 46 points on 17-for-32 shooting, including 7-for-15 from three, would rank first among the three because it’s arguably the greatest playoff performance Tatum’s ever had to date. Especially since that performance helped the Celtics stave off elimination.
Tatum’s Game 7 performance against the Heat, by comparison, was good – putting up 26 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists – which helped the Celtics reach the 2022 NBA Finals, but Tatum putting up a better performance against the reigning NBA Champions at the time on their home floor clearly means more to him.
Though he did say that the list was subject to change.
Tatum Humbly Responds to Finals Jab
Tatum garnered plenty of flak for his performance during the 2022 NBA Finals. Tatum averaged 21.5 points a game, which was a dropoff from the scoring average he put up against his previous three opponents while shooting 36.7 percent from the field. Tatum’s performance in the decisive Game 6 was noticeably bad, as he scored 13 points while shooting 33 percent from the field on 18 shots while also committing five turnovers in the process.
Evidently, his NBA Finals performance is still fresh on people’s minds. While answering questions, Tatum was asked bluntly about his performance against the Golden State Warriors during the 2022 NBA Finals. Instead of trying to defend his performance or make a snide remark right back, Tatum humbly responded by saying, “get knocked down nine times, get up 10.”
@Edwinthedice Get knocked down 9 times get up 10
From the sounds of things, Tatum understands that he did not have a good performance in the NBA Finals, so he plans to take what he learned from his mistakes and use it to improve next season.
Tatum Reveals His Favorite Players to Go Up Against
Tatum has gone toe-to-toe against some of the NBA’s very best players in the NBA postseason, including LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokoumnpo, and Joel Embiid. In fact, he’s gone up against some of those players multiple times throughout his playoff career.
While answering questions on Twitter, Tatum was asked who were his favorite players to play against. Tatum listed some of the NBA’s current and previous prolific wing scorers while stating why specifically them.
@TylerCornellNBA @celtics Kd, bron, Melo, kawhi….. basically best players at my position
Even though Carmelo Anthony’s production has fallen off since Tatum entered the league unlike the other players listed, Tatum clearly respects the matchup with the ten-time all-star regardless.
The fact that Tatum says those players are his favorite ones to match up against shows that Tatum welcomes the challenge against the very best players who play the exact same position as him.
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Jayson Tatum Reflects on Playoff Highs, Including Dunk on Lebron James