Boston Celtics Star Jayson Tatum Quotes Ye’s 2005 Grammys Speech After Winning NBA Finals
Hoops star Jayson Tatum reached the apex of the basketball world when capturing his first NBA championship with his Boston Celtics defeating the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 on Monday night (June 17).
After all the champagne and cigars ran dry at the TD Garden following the game five win, the afterparty continued at a nearby Boston nightclub, where Tatum recited a line from a classic speech by Ye (formerly known as Kanye West).
The former Duke Blue Devil didn’t let the Larry O’Brien Trophy leave his arms as he got on the mic and did his best Ye impersonation, quoting Yeezy from the 2005 Grammy Awards after the artist took home best rap album honors for The College Dropout.
“I know everybody would wonder what would happen if we didn’t win,” Tatum began quoting Ye before delivering the punchline. “I guess we’ll never know!” The homage to the 24-time Grammy winner — who has since faced condemnation for his hate speech — drew an ovation from the Celtic crowd piled into the club.
The rapper’s soulful debut beat out his mentor Jay-Z’s The Black Album, Nelly’s Suit, LL Cool J’s The Definition and The Beastie Boys’ To the 5 Boroughs to win the Grammy. The College Dropout arrived in February 2004 and reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 441,000 albums sold in the first week.
Tatum — who is rumored to be dating British singer Ella Mai — along with Jaylen Brown played integral roles in leading the Celtics to the franchise’s first title since 2008.
Brown ended up beating out Tatum for NBA Finals MVP honors, but JT carried the Celtics with a game-high 31 points to go along with 11 assists and eight rebounds to lead the team to the clinching victory.
Watch the speech from Jayson Tatum below.
Michael Saponara
Billboard
