Celtics Players Salute Jayson Tatum After Earning First-Team All-NBA Nod

The accolades continue to file in for the Celtics.

A little over a month after Marcus Smart won this season’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, Jayson Tatum was named to the league’s All-NBA first-team. It marked the first honor of the kind for Tatum, who earned a spot on the All-NBA third team in 2020.

Shortly after Tatum was recognized, he received social media shoutouts from multiple Celtics teammates including Smart and fellow franchise cornerstone Jaylen Brown.

Joining Tatum on the latest All-NBA first team were Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and two-time defending league MVP Nikola Jokic.

Tatum deserves to enjoy the moment, but he surely has more important things in mind than individual honors. The Celtics are two wins away from reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in over a decade, and they can secure one of those victories Wednesday night at FTX Arena.

Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals between Boston and the Miami Heat is scheduled to tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET. Should the Celtics come out on top Wednesday, Tatum and company will have the opportunity to punch their ticket to basketball’s biggest stage Friday night at TD Garden.