Tatum will be NBA Finals MVP for the Celtics this season

I can't imagine another time something like this has happened in sports.

A combination of coronation and deprivation.

And if he knows the subject, it will only give him more strength.

St. Louis native Jayson Tatum won his first NBA championship this summer. He was only 26 years old. And in the NBA Finals, he led the Boston Celtics in scoring (22.2 points per game) and rebounding (7.8 per game). And Assists (7.2 per game). Oh, and in the final title game, Tatum scored 31 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.

But he didn't win the NBA Finals MVP.

That went to teammate Jaylen Brown, who had big moments in big wins but lower stats.

Then, at the 2024 Olympics this summer, Tatum didn't get much playing time. Coach Steve Kerr chose other players and didn't play Tatum at all in two of the six games. The USA won gold, but Tatum didn't contribute much to the goal.

Well, the 2024-25 NBA season begins on Tuesday. And here's the idea that Tatum has a special, intense fuel inside of him. Maybe even a unique brand of fuel. Because here is a guy who should be on top of the world, feeling free and invincible, but who instead has to deal with the humiliation that came from being voted MVP in the NBA Finals and being awarded Olympic playing time .

This will all help Tatum in the long run. Unexpected fire for someone who is already an elite player and eternally motivated.

I've been writing about Tatum since his senior year of high school. I have interviewed him and many people close to him over the years. I learned a lot about what makes this man a man. Here's a guy who's already a high-level worker. And a guy whose idol was Kobe Bryant, who was known for thriving with the unbreakable “Mamba mentality.”

So Tatum would have had to keep trying regardless. But now a champion has the fire to prove he can be an even better champion? This is good stuff.

That is my decision. Tatum will win the 2025 NBA Finals MVP.

Tatum is entering his eighth season and has made the All-NBA first team each of the last three seasons. He made the All-Star team in five of his seven seasons. And he has made it to the conference finals in five of his seven seasons.

“Anytime you make a game plan for Boston, you start with Jayson Tatum,” said St. Louis native Blake Ahearn, who played 19 NBA games and was an assistant coach with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies last season. “His ability to be so versatile — whether it's his ability to pass, shoot the ball, get to the basket — I mean, he just scores on all three levels. He can play pick-and-roll, he can isolate. It's a nightmare for opposing coaches to figure out.

“And he’s surrounded by a lot of other players who could actually play basketball. So you're really in a bind and wondering: Do you want to double team him? Or are you just trying to give him a singles coverage and hope he doesn’t have a night?”

Ahearn played for the San Antonio Spurs and later coached their G League team, the Austin Toros, who won the G League title in 2018 with a young Derrick White (who eventually became a starter on Tatum's Celtics).

“I’ve been very fortunate in my career to be around people who have accomplished so much,” Ahearn said. “And to me, you see a guy like Jayson doing it right – the person he is, the way he carries himself. He's not the type of guy that goes out and just shoots 40 times. He really does everything he can to help his team win championships. You can't always say that about everyone.

“And I think his legacy now is – he’s one of the best players in the world, there’s no doubt about that. But you know, he's in this legendary Celtics program where they're judged by championships in Boston. That's why I was really happy for him that he got the first copy. And hopefully he continues to have success throughout his career.”

Tatum, of course, is one of the greatest basketball players St. Louis has ever produced. And the city has a rich basketball tradition. No, we're not Chicago, New York or Atlanta, but over the years there have been some St. Louis students who have made it to the NBA, be it Bradley Beal, David Lee, Larry Hughes, Steve Stipanovich, Bob Ferry and Ed Macauley. Anthony Bonner was a star at Vashon High School and St. Louis University (he averaged 19.8 points and 13.8 rebounds as an SLU senior) and was a first-round draft pick. He played six NBA seasons, including key minutes for the 1994-95 Knicks, who made it to the NBA Finals.

“I mean, I love him,” Bonner said when asked about Tatum. “It’s funny because we had some (outstanding) Celtics. Jo Jo White (a Hall of Fame guard who won two NBA titles). And people don't really talk about Soldan High School's David Thirdkill, who won an NBA championship in 1986. And now you have Tatum.

“The kid is just a phenomenal basketball player. I mean, everyone recognizes the skills. This is obvious even to the amateur basketball fan. But what I appreciate is his demeanor. It's never too high. It's never too low. Always determined. He's resilient, whether it's a 50-point or 40-point outburst or it's a tough night, and you know he's going to bounce back. … He has some advantage.”

A unique advantage this season.