Jayson Tatum: I’m the BEST player in the NBA right now | SportsCenter

Jayson Tatum: I’m the BEST player in the NBA right now | SportsCenter

And of the Boston Celtics are rolling again they closed the first half of the season on a five-game win streak with an NBA best 43 and 12 record 30 Games over 500 oh and they have Jason Tatum who Min see is the face of the league once

LeBron hangs up his LeBron’s thinks the championship would cement that and he really likes his team sat down with Malik Andrews you guys have been one of if not the best team in the NBA record-wise all season long but to you how much stock do you put in this now versus knowing that

This is a team that is really measured in the playoffs the regular season is there for a reason right you have to build the right habits you have to uh build chemistry and things like that and I just love the way that we’re playing right obviously I love our record 43 44

And 12 or something but the way that we’re playing the way guys are coexisting together there’s a difference from last year and we had a really good team last year yeah U but I love where we’re at this year here compared to last season do you think that this is the

Best team that you’ve played on is it better than the 2022 finals team yeah it is um just because I think I’m better than I was two years ago JB is better you know KP makes the world all the difference in the world obviously Drew holiday and the way that

Derek Whitman playing you know this year compared to two years ago you and Jaylen Brown you worked out together right over the summer a little bit with Drew that was a for you guys right it’s in the summertime yeah so why did you feel like

That you this was the time that you guys needed to come together put in that extra work as a Duo not just individually so your games complimented each other when you came back yeah I think over the last few years we’ve taken strides of like coexisting together getting the best out of each

Other while being the best version of ourselves and being the you know the leaders that our team need us to be and I think uh it’s part is just getting older IMM maturing right still relatively young guys but understand understanding that you know this is like

This is our time and we need to take full advantage of it you know it’s going to pay off in the long long run who do you think is the best player in the NBA right now uh myself is that have you always had that kind of confidence

Because I don’t I asked you that question a year ago and you said it was Giannis so what’s given you that confidence I got a lot of respect for a lot of guys in M Giannis for sure um yic obviously just won and be guys that won

MVPs and the list goes on the league is in a great place I truly do believe every night I step on the floor I’m the best player is that a mentality that you’ve worked to hone because I think back to the 2022 finals that wonderful story you worked on with Ramona shelburn

About how difficult it was in the days afterwards wanting to just be in your room be sort of shut away and being pretty disappointed in yourself you put all of that on yourself did you have to work to sort of forgive yourself in order to move forward uh I’m a big

Believer in everything happens for a reason and maybe I needed to go through that uh for something haven’t figured that out yet but uh it happened and I’ve I’ve grown from it I’ve learned from it in a weird way I’m thankful for it that experience as tough as it was is much as

It hurt um I’m thankful that I went through that and I think it’s made me a better person than player has your process changed at all I mean it just talking to you now it seems like the way that you are stepping onto the floor you always had that you’ve evoked Kobe

You’ve talked about that that quiet confidence it feels louder yeah uh and maybe I’ve kind of grown into my own in a sense right uh still like I said still young 25 but it’s my seventh year in the league and I’m very confident because I know how

Hard I work I know how much I put into this game I know how badly I want to be one of the best how B I want to win like why wouldn’t I be confident cuz I know how hard I work the beauty of only being 20

Is you get to write your entire story in front of you and when you think about what you want to be known as what you want to be remembered as what you want to have accomplished what are those things in your career I want to be a

Winner I want to win um and it’s funny that you say that cuz I I felt that that you know why hasn’t he won you know his window has closed and it’s it’s tough when you have success early right cuz I’ve been to the finals one I’ve been in

The confence finals four times so it just seems like you know he should have done this done that um and I was just doing those things at a really young age yeah um I’ve had some really good teams and I’ve been a part of some really

Special runs but I truly do believe my time is coming and it’s going to be well worth it Jason Tatum’s having one of the best years of his career this season averaging almost 28 points a game with over eight rebounds and four assists he’s his most efficient season shooting

47.5% from the field with a real plus minus of plus eight the second best Mark of his career and third best in the NBA this season

Featured on SportsCenter, Jayson Tatum sits down with Malika Andrews to talk about the Boston Celtics’ quest to return to the NBA Finals while posting the best record in the NBA post All-Star break.

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