Tatum reveals a great reason why he agreed to make ‘Starting 5’ doc originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Netflix just released its “Starting 5” documentarywhich follows Jayson Tatum, LeBron James, Anthony Edwards, Jimmy Butler and Domantas Sabonis behind the scenes during the 2023-24 season.
But if Tatum was a little less confident, that “Starting 5” might not have included him.
The Boston Celtics star told reporters on Thursday that when he was first approached about taking part in the documentary, it was suggested to him that he could wait until the following year and perhaps be the “star” of the show, instead of being overshadowed by NBA. a legend like James.
Still, Tatum wasn’t interested in waiting — in part because he felt confident the 2023-24 season could be special.
“When they came to me with the idea, at the time they said LeBron was in it, and honestly he was like, ‘Oh, you could wait until Season 2. Obviously LeBron is in it; you could possibly be the star of Season 2 ,'” Tatum said.
“I was like, ‘No, I want to be part of the first one.’ And I was like, ‘I think we’re going to win a championship.’ And we did.”
Remember, this pitch came to Tatum before the Celtics played a single game last season. But Tatum was confident about his squad, which reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2023 and the NBA Finals the previous season and acquired Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday that offseason.
He believed he could give the Netflix team something special to document, and he realized that belief when the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals. Netflix’s cameras caught Tatum’s emotional celebration with his son Deuce as the confetti fell at TD Garden, and Tatum relived that moment Wednesday night while watching the final episode of the documentary.
“I’m not going to lie, I skipped to Episode 10 last night,” Tatum said. “I just wanted to see what it was like. I was emotional in a good way, reliving those moments of fulfilling a lifelong dream, all behind the scenes.
“It made me happy last night watching that on TV just to relive that moment of us winning a championship.”
The Celtics will have another chance to enjoy their latest title on Opening Night when they do raise Banner 18 to the rooftops and receive their championship rings before their October 22nd game against the New York Knicks. But after that, they will quickly turn the page while running at Banner 19.
