Jayson Tatum Calls Celtics' NBA Finals Loss to Warriors a 'Learning Experience'

Jayson Tatum is determined to not make his first NBA Finals experience his last.

“It was just a learning experience, learning a lesson,” Tatum told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “Maybe do some things differently next time if you get to that point. Obviously, it's tough to learn a lesson that way, but it is what it is …

"It just fuels you. Motivates you to get back to that point."

Tatum was limited to just 21.5 points per game over the six-game series, shooting 36.7 percent from the floor as the Golden State Warriors defense thwarted nearly all of his efforts inside of the arc. While Tatum was able to stay involved offensively by averaging 7.0 assists per game, he spent most of the Finals being outperformed by teammate Jaylen Brown.

The three-time All-Star played through a shoulder injury and pain in his right wrist throughout the Finals but never made the issues public until the offseason.

"It affected me, but that's why I never talked about it," Tatum said. “I didn’t show people I was wearing a brace [off the court] because if I'm out there, if you playing, then you playing. So, if you can't play, then you can't play. It was June, so everybody was dealing with something. I wasn't the only guy out there that was banged up."

Tatum will likely have to take on an outsized leadership role on and off the court this season. Ime Udoka's suspension for multiple team policy violations leaves the Boston Celtics entering a season with a new head coach for the second straight year, which will force Tatum and Brown to step up as the true pillars of the locker room.

Tatum has largely been a lead-by-example player over the course of his career, with Marcus Smart being highlighted as the franchise's emotional leader. But the Finals showed emotional leadership can only go so far.

Tatum is the best player on the roster and has a chance to establish himself as the latest all-time great to wear a Celtics uniform. His next step will be embracing the role his play has earned him.