Celtics' Jayson Tatum: 'There Was Doubt in the Toughest Moments' I'd Win NBA Title

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum wasn't always certain that he'd win a championship before the team's NBA Finals victory last season.

"It was lot of weight. I've been close so many times," Tatum told Andscape's Marc J. Spears on Oct. 11. "It felt like, 'Damn, maybe this is not meant to be.' Those thoughts creep into your mind. There was doubt in the toughest moments. But then on the flip side, I knew we were going to knock it down one day. It meant everything when we did it."

The Celtics have made the playoffs in each of the past 10 seasons, which includes all seven years of Tatum's career. He immediately became accustomed to success in the postseason, with Boston making an Eastern Conference Finals appearance during his rookie campaign in the 2017-18 season.

However, the Celtics repeatedly missed out on chances to win a title. They lost in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in both 2018 and 2023, falling in Game 6 to the Miami Heat during a 2020 ECF trip.

Boston made it out of the East in 2022, but ultimately couldn't secure a championship after falling to the Golden State Warriors in six games.

The Celtics cruised through the playoffs last season, never losing more than one game in each of their four series matchups. This also applies to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, as Boston won its 18th title in five games.

Tatum struggled to open the Celtics' clash with the Mavericks, averaging just 17 points per game on 31.6/28.6/75 shooting splits in the first two games of the series. He was able to bounce back, recording 25.7 points and 6.3 assists per contest from Game 3 through Game 5.

Tatum and the Celtics will now attempt to become the first team to win back-to-back championships since the Warriors in 2018. Their season starts against the New York Knicks on Tuesday, with tip-off at 7:30 p.m. ET.