Getty Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum handles the ball during Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.
In the wake of the Boston Celtics‘ NBA Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors last month, Jayson Tatum was struck by just how difficult the chase for a championship truly is.
“It’s hard. It’s hard getting to this point — it’s even harder getting over it, the hump, and winning it,” Tatum told reporters after Game 6. “It’s been a long journey, a long process. That’s what I took from it: it’s tough. You got to take it up another level to do what we want to do.”
While that sentiment definitely rings true, it clearly didn’t help that Stephen Curry stood between the Beantowners and the Larry O’Brien Trophy. After all, the four-time champ and two-time league MVP went full-on supernova in his effort to secure Golden State’s latest chip.
And fans are apparently intent on reminding Tatum as much at every available opportunity.
Tatum’s New ‘Daddy’
This dude tried to troll Jayson Tatum 🤔
(via cactus.kish/IG)
The Celtics’ inability to finish the job against the Warriors may have been a gut punch for Tatum, but he’s clearly not letting it get him down. Rather, he’s out there living his best life — hanging with Jay Z and Drake, maybe dating Ella Mai and attending music festivals.
Alas, the latter excursion was not without incident for the pride of Boston.
As captured in the video above, Tatum was taking in the sounds and having a good time when a hoops fan crafted a special message for him using their smartphone. The fan then held the device up so Tatum could see it and, sure enough, the Celtics star clocked it in short order.
The message that was on the fan’s screen (in big, bold letters no less): “Steph Curry is your daddy.” Ouch.
Ever the pro, Tatum simply grinned and nodded his head in acknowledgment. And after Steph lit up the C’s to the tune of 31 points, six boards, five dimes per game while shooting 43.7% from deep, that may just be the appropriate response.
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Jordan Poole Getting Early Love From Oddsmakers in Award Race
Although he was conspicuously absent as a finalist for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for 2021-22, there’s no doubting that Jordan Poole took his game to a whole other level. After averaging 12 points, two boards and two dimes per outing in ’20-21, Poole logged a 19-4-3 line and shot better than 36% from deep last season.
Without him, Golden State likely doesn’t return to its old championship perch.
Despite the fact that the year-end hardware eluded him this time around, oddsmakers are giving Poole a strong chance to capture a different trophy next summer. Per Vegas Insider, the Dubs star joins Tyler Herro as a co-favorite for Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2022-23 as a +450 bet.
The top picks for 6MOY currently shake out as follows:
Tyler Herro +450
Jordan Poole +450
Malcolm Brogdon +1000
Jordan Clarkson +1200
Anfernee Simons +1400
Cameron Johnson +1600
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