Jayson Tatum Thanks Celtics Teammates For Making All-Star Selection Happen
BOSTON (CBS) -- Jayson Tatum is grateful to be heading to his third straight All-Star game. But he's a little disappointed that he'll be heading to Cleveland alone.
Tatum found out about his All-Star nod like everyone else on Thursday night: By watching TV. The selection was no surprise, given Tatum's strong play throughout the season, but it's always nice to be included among the best players in the league.
"It's an incredible feeling, something you don't want to take for granted," Tatum told reporters Friday. "So I'm thankful and happy."
The Celtics congratulated Tatum at Friday's morning shootaround in Detroit, but he was quick to give his teammates credit for his selection.
"I told them I appreciate those guys. This is a team sport so I couldn't have done it without them," said Tatum.
Boston head coach Ime Udoka said that Tatum's selection was expected, and he believes that the 23-year-old has a much higher ceiling than just "NBA All-Star."
"For him, that's a standard that he has set and a goal that he should achieve yearly, in my opinion," said Udoka. "As well as All-NBA and, eventually, the MVP conversation."
While Tatum's scoring average and his shooting are down from a season ago, he's still having a spectacular year for Boston. He is the NBA's overall points leader and has been downright lethal on a number of occasions, with a pair of 40-point games to go with a 52-point outburst a few weeks ago. His shooting and efficiency have both gone up over the last two months after his poor start, and he's also become a much better passer and distributor this season.
But given his massive dip from beyond the arc, Tatum made it clear that he will not be partaking in the three-point contest on All-Star weekend.
"Not this year. I missed 20 straight three-pointers in a row," he joked, bringing up his rough streak last month.
Something he will be doing is going to bat for Jaylen Brown, who was not selected as a reserve on Thursday. Brown has also put up some impressive numbers this season, but the 14 games he missed with a hamstring injury and Boston's overall struggles hurt his cause.
Over the next week or so, Tatum will be doing his best to get his friend and teammate to Cleveland.
"The experience is much better when you have a teammate with you," he said. "Hopefully Jaylen will be there. ... I might text Adam Silver and see what we can do."
