Jayson Tatum sits down with Chris Forsberg and goes deep on the thinking behind his goal to join Larry Bird in elite company as the best Celtics players of all time.
Jayson Tatum and Anthony Edwards were two of the five NBA stars to be followed by Netflix cameras for the "Starting 5" docuseries throughout the 2023-24 NBA season. They provided plenty of content during their first matchup in November.
The premiere episode of the series focused on Edwards leading his Minnesota Timberwolves to a 114-109 overtime win over Tatum's Boston Celtics. Edwards dropped a game-high 38 points and played great defense on Tatum in crunch time, including in OT when he gained possession of the ball after getting tangled up with the C's superstar.
While celebrating the win in the Timberwolves locker room, Edwards scoffed at those who consider Tatum the NBA's best.
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"You seen Tatum trying to get me on the switch, locked his ass up two times. He started talking s---," Edwards said. "Tatum was talking crazy, saying, ‘Yeah, I’m here,’ then I said, ‘I’m coming again.’ Talking ‘bout best player in the league, y’all trippin’."
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Tatum got the last laugh. In the Celtics and Timberwolves' next meeting two months later, he erupted for 45 points to lead Boston to a 127-120 victory in another OT thriller. The C's also were victorious in their third and final matchup vs. the Wolves in Minnesota, 104-102.
After the November loss to Edwards and the Timberwolves, Tatum opened up about the pressure that comes with being the best team in the league.
"We're expected to win every single night and when we lose, the f---ing world is ending, everybody's on TV talking about us, how we're not equipped to win a championship, how I can't lead a team," he said.
The Minnesota loss was one of only 18 for Boston all season. The Celtics cruised through the NBA playoffs as the No. 1 seed and defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals.
Tatum vs. Edwards makes Celtics-Timberwolves must-watch television when they face off in the upcoming campaign. They're scheduled to meet on Nov. 24 and Jan. 2.
