Life is pretty good for Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum.
The 25-year-old is the driving force behind one of the NBA’s marquee franchises. He’s making $32.6 million during the 2023-24 season, and his pay structure only escalates for each of the next two years (assuming he picks up a $37.1 million player option for the 2025-26 campaign). He’s a household name in basketball circles, and his Celtics are an Eastern Conference-leading 16-5 coming out of the mini-break for the conclusion of the inaugural In-Season Tournament.
But hard as it may be to imagine, three-time NBA champion Sam Cassell thinks Tatum’s life can get that much better.
Sam Cassell Explains how Jayson Tatum’s Life can ‘Get Better’
The explanation is simple: Go win a title.
Of course, that’s easier said than done.
“It would be life-changing,” Cassell said about the prospect of Tatum winning a championship with the Celtics during an interview with Boston.com’s Khari Thompson. “His life is great now. These guys’ lives are great. But, if you win a championship in Boston, it can get better. It can get a little bit better, trust it. There’s nothing wrong with winning a championship in Boston.”
Cassell knows a thing or three about winning titles.
After starring at Florida State, he entered the NBA as the No. 24 overall pick of the 1993 NBA draft, immediately landing with a competitive Houston Rockets squad led by Hakeem Olajuwon. Though he came off the bench in both seasons and averaged single-digit points as a role player, he won titles during each of his first two professional campaigns.
Cassell went on to make one All-Star roster, earning the nod when he averaged 19.8 points and 7.3 assists for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2003-04, but he went over a decade in the Association before he again reached the mountaintop. This time, it came with the Doc Rivers-helmed, Ubuntu-preaching Boston Celtics in 2007-08.
The C’s acquired the then-38-year-old by signing him three days after the Los Angeles Clippers waived him at the end of February ’08. He played just 17.6 minutes per game for the rest of the regular season and came off the bench to fill a small role during the playoffs, but that didn’t lessen the sweetness of his third ring.
“Winning a championship in Boston was real, real special. They came out in Houston, but they really came out in Boston. To win a championship in Boston, with that tradition, that alone is huge,” Cassell told Thompson.
“Winning in Houston was great because it was the first one that the city ever had. I will never forget it,” he continued. “But, the Boston one was like ‘wow’. Maybe because I was so young that I didn’t really realize what a championship was all about the first two years. Then I went 12 years without winning another one. Winning another one with the tradition here was wild .”
