"Experts" - Jayson Tatum claps back at NBA analysts who favored Mavericks over Celtics as finals champions
After securing his first NBA championship, Boston Celtics superstar forward Jayson Tatum clapped back at his team's most prominent doubters on social media.
The Celtics were the NBA's prohibitive title favorite all season. After obtaining a league-best 64-18 regular-season record, they coasted with a 12-2 record through the playoffs' first three rounds.
Nonetheless, many analysts and former players picked the Western Conference's fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks (50-32) to continue their surprise run and upset Boston. They reasoned that the Mavericks boasted the series' best player, Luka Doncic, and the Celtics had yet to face any real competition.
However, Boston rose to the occasion, continuing its postseason dominance with a 4-1 finals gentleman's sweep, winning Game 5 106-88 at home on Monday. A day later, Tatum took to his Instagram story to call out his squad's biggest skeptics.
The five-time All-Star shared a montage, originally posted by the Celtics, of the most renowned pundits and ex-players who predicted a Dallas upset. He captioned his story, "Experts," with a series of grinning, sweating emojis.
The clip features ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, FS1's Skip Bayless, NBA legend-turned-TNT analyst Shaquille O'Neal and more.
It's rare for that many big-name media personalities to pick against such an overwhelming favorite. Nevertheless, Tatum and Co. cemented their place in history, guiding Boston to its record-breaking 18th championship.
Also Read: Did the Celtics have the easiest championship run in NBA history? Looking at all favorable incidents in playoffs
Jayson Tatum highlights historic playoff accolade after missing out on NBA Finals MVP
Despite leading the Celtics in points (22.2), rebounds (7.8) and assists per game (7.2) in the finals, Jayson Tatum caught flak for his sub-par shooting efficiency.
Over five games, he shot only 38.8% and 26.3% from 3-point range, failing to capture this year's finals MVP. It was instead awarded to his co-star Jaylen Brown, who averaged 20.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg and 5.0 apg on 44.0% shooting.
However, Tatum still made history with his overall playoff run. The 26-year-old became the sixth player since 1980 to win a title while leading their team in points, rebounds and assists. He finished with team highs of 475 points, 184 rebounds and 119 assists over 19 postseason outings.
On Tuesday, the superstar forward also shared the NBA's graphic of his milestone on his Instagram story.
So, after being critiqued throughout the playoffs, given his recent Instagram activity, it appears Tatum is reveling in his first title as much as possible.
Also Read: "The criticism is stupid" - Brad Stevens calls out Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum detractors after finally winning NBA title