Jayson Tatum is on about one thing.
The Boston Celtics star entered Monday's Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals one win away from his first career championship, and even though he's eligible to sign the richest contract in NBA history this coming offseason, all attention is reportedly focused on the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
“I spoke with his agent, Joe Wexler, today,” ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said before Monday's game (at the 50-second mark). “What's interesting is that he says he and Tatum haven't discussed any elements of that contract during this season. He says Tatum hasn't talked about the postseason MVP award. All he's talked about is winning a championship.”
Wojnarowski explained that Tatum is on the verge of signing a five-year, $315 million contract extension, the largest in league history.
It's worth noting that Tatum's Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown currently has the highest contract in NBA history, but Wojnarowski said Tatum's impending deal would be “above” that by about $30 million.
Assuming Tatum wins a title this year, there will be little missing from his resume.
He's a champion, four-time All-NBA selection and five-time All-Star who has appeared in the postseason every year of his career since being selected third overall by the Celtics in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The best thing about him from Boston's perspective may be that he's only 26 years old.
There's not much room for improvement given how talented he already is, but it also means Tatum has a good chance of continuing to perform at an All-NBA level for years to come, which would likely keep the Celtics on the short list of championship contenders during a high-profile contract extension.
And the price will be well worth it.
