Today, Jayson Tatum is a centerpiece of the Boston Celtics and one of the most famous players in the NBA.
But when he first entered the league, he had a lot of concerns about his career and his time in Boston.
Speaking on the “Club 520” podcast, Tatum revealed that he actually wanted to be traded before he even played a single game with the Celtics.
According to a video shared by Legion Hoops, Tatum called his agent after the Celtics signed Gordon Hayward and said he needed to leave Boston.
Thankfully, his agent talked him down.
As we all know, Tatum remained with the Celtics and had a strong rookie season that put him on a path to his recent success.
Jayson Tatum says he called his agent after the Celtics signed Gordon Hayward:
“I gotta get traded.”
(via @club520podcast) pic.twitter.com/uISGxd5Lcj
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) November 4, 2024
Tatum was selected as the No. 3 pick in the 2017 draft and he was immediately worried he wouldn’t get much time on the court during his rookie year.
It’s typically hard for newcomers to earn a lot of minutes but that’s even more true when their team is as robust and powerful as the Celtics were.
Things became more complicated when the Celtics signed Gordon Hayward, who was likely going to take more minutes away from Tatum.
But that’s not what happened.
Instead, Hayward was injured in his first game and missed the entire season, while Tatum put up 13.9 points and 5.0 rebounds.
Since then, he has only gotten better and become a larger part of the team.
This season, he’s the biggest name on the roster and is averaging 30.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game.
It’s wild to think he came close to leaving the team that he now loves so much and Celtics fans are thankful he’s been with them since day one.
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