Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics knows he has to win a championship to silence critics

Jayson Tatum has found a lot of success during his years leading the Boston Celtics but the team has yet to enjoy the ultimate success of winning the NBA Finals. They have come close, but not close enough.

Speaking with The Athletic, the star player admitted that he is at the point in his career where he has to win a championship to finally prove his whole worth.

"I understand that, no matter what I do in the regular season, I’m at that point where people just judge me off whether I can win a championship," Tatum said. "I realize that, and it’s like, all right, I just gotta do it."

So far, Tatum has been to the Finals one time, losing to the Golden State Warriors.

His Celtics have also reached the Eastern Conference Finals twice, losing last season to the Miami Heat after seven games. Tatum knows that this season everyone is expecting the team to do just as well, if not better. He is using that as a motivation to play even better and help his team succeed.

"Earlier, I was playing the game just to play the game instead of just thinking it," Tatum said. "Now, I go out there, and I understand who we’re playing against. I know their scheme, what they’re trying to do, which guys are in or out the lineup."

He went on: "Learning from experience, I understand that I’m good enough that I can relax and defer a little bit," he added. "Then, the fourth quarter comes, and I know I can score 20 in the quarter."

The Celtics have their best roster in years right now and there is every reason to believe that they can go all the way this year. In fact, if the team falls short again this year, some analysts and writers will be calling on the head office to make major changes.