Bob Cousy Comments On Boston Celtic Jayson Tatum

Hearing a great legend on a rising one is a special moment

As noted here recently, during this year’s NBA Finals, Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy pointed out that he was 95 with “one foot in the grave” and how happy he’d be if Boston won championship #18 to pull out of the 17-17 tie with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Celtics made his wish come true, winning the series 4-1 over Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively and the Dallas Mavericks. As one of the last members of the original Celtics dynasty, Cousy kind of carries the torch for men like Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, KC Jones and John Havlicek, so what he says carries extra weight. And here’s what he says about former Duke star Jayson Tatum:

“Tatum brings it to the basket and finishes as well as anybody 6-7 I’ve seen, and he’s got an excellent shooting touch.If we want to look for negatives, I would say occasionally I’m not a fan of the 3-point shot as the first option. I’m absolutely in favor of using it as a weapon, because it’s an effective one and the Celtics do it probably as well as any team in the league, and Tatum as well as any 6-7. That little stepback he has, when it’s on, it’s great. But I’m saying just don’t use it as your first option.

“He touches every offensive base to be successful, and I think he does it as well as anyone, certainly his size. ... Tatum, I don’t think has any weaknesses.”

He also praises Jaylen Brown extensively, though he clearly thinks Tatum is a bit better and wraps up his comments saying “...to have those two both as young players — 26, 27 — for the next few years is good news for the Celtics. They could extend this championship run for a few years.”

We’d love to see him make it for at least another title but that might not be easy and even Cousy is skeptical. If he’s right about multiple championships though, one day Tatum and Brown might be the old hands keeping Boston’s tremendous tradition alive.