Tatum has Larry Bird in his sights as he chases greatness with Celtics

Tatum has Larry Bird in his sights as he chases greatness with Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

After recording his fourth career triple-double in the Boston Celtics’ rout of the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night, Jayson Tatum was asked what’s fueling him this season after he reached the mountaintop of winning an NBA title last June.

Tatum responded with a simple yet powerful answer: He’s trying to be one of the best players of all time.

“Since I’ve gotten in the league, it’s just trying to get better every single year,” Tatum said. “I’m very accomplished at a young age, but the truth is, I envision myself as one of those guys — LeBron (James), Steph (Curry), KD (Kevin Durant). I want the next generation to view me as that.”

While Tatum is well on his way to taking the torch from modern legends like James, Curry and Durant, his quest for greatness is also motivated by a Boston legend: Larry Bird.

“Wearing a Celtics uniform comes with a lot of pride,” Tatum said. “The best Celtic ever is Larry Bird, and even if I never reach that — maybe I do, maybe I don’t — you aspire to chase that guy. It comes with a level of focus and motivation every single day to be the best you can be, and wherever the chips fall, just knowing that you gave it your all, you can be OK with that.”

While you could argue 11-time champion Bill Russell deserves mention in the “best Celtic ever” conversation, Tatum has long had his sights set on Bird, admitting before the 2024-25 season that he wants to be mentioned alongside the three-time NBA champion and Basketball Hall of Famer.

Tatum is certainly off to a hot start; his 13,273 points before his 27th birthday (coming up on March 3rd) are the seventh-most in NBA history, and he’s the only player in the league currently leading his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and made 3-pointers.

“I think you just realize at certain point that you might be on the trajectory of, whatever people want to call it, having a legendary career, all-time great or whatever,” Tatum said. “And you see the impact that (Bird) had on the game of basketball and obviously with the Celtics, winning three championships, three (NBA) MVPs in a row, which is incredible.

“You just suddenly start to see that we both score 60 points in a game, you start getting mentioned as, ‘the only other Celtics (player) to do this.’ And obviously once you win a championship, it’s like, ‘All right, you can be in those rooms with the Celtics legends.’ But it doesn’t just stop at one. You obviously have to win multiple (titles), and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Tatum seems to have found a healthy balance between individual goals and team goals, with the understanding that if he pushes himself toward greatness, it will translate into both accolades for himself and wins for his team. So far, it’s hard to argue with the results.

“I’ve always wanted to be the best,” Tatum said. “And (Bird) is, in my opinion, the best Celtic ever. He did it the right way, and he’s a great guy to chase in a sense.”