Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said on the latest edition of The Old Man and the Three podcast (15:30 mark) that he would have rather won the NBA championship on the Dallas Mavericks’ court at American Airlines Center.
“I would have preferred to win on the road honestly,” Tatum said regarding the Celtics’ title, which culminated with Boston’s 107-89 Game 5 home win.
“Just because I know what it felt like for somebody to win a championship on my home court.
I wanted that get-back. Like I wanted to win in Dallas.
Because I’ve seen the Warriors celebrate on our home court and that s–t was devastating.”
Two years ago, the Boston Celtics lost in six games to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
Golden State capped that victory with a 103-90 win in Game 6 in Boston.
The Celtics’ return to the NBA Finals in 2024 marked Tatum’s second championship appearance.
Boston had a chance to finish the series in Dallas after winning the first three games, but the Mavericks crushed the Celtics 122-84 in Game 4.
There wasn’t much drama at all in Game 5 as Boston cruised to an 18-point win.
Perhaps Tatum didn’t have that get-back, but he did help the Celtics win the franchise’s 18th NBA title.
And now he has a chance to win his second straight gold medal with Team USA in the Summer Olympics in Paris.
