The Boston Celtics are the most storied franchise in NBA history with their 18 Championships hanging in the rafters and the iconic players that put them there and Boston’s current superstar knows it.

Jayson Tatum has said on numerous occasions that he’s chasing Celtics legend Larry Bird, one the best players in NBA history and in Celtics franchise history.

Everyday that Tatum goes into work, he has to see and hear about how great Bird was for the Celtics. After eight-years, Tatum is finally in a position to classed as one of the best and he’s chasing Bird in order to prove it.

It doesn’t happen often when a player is able to chase one of the best players in NBA history who also played for the franchise he’s currently on and was drafted to. Tatum gets to do that with Bird.

“Wearing the Celtics uniform comes with a lot of pride and the best Celtic ever is Larry Bird and even if I never reach, and maybe I do maybe I don’t, but I do aspire to chase that guy and it comes with a level of focus and motivation every single day to be the best you can and wherever the chips fall, just know that you gave it your all.”

Over the course of Tatum’s career, he started hearing that some of his accomplishments and accolades have only been done by Bird. That’s when he realized he could become one of the next greats in NBA history and also chase the best player in his team’s history in Bird.

“I think you realize at a certain point that you might be on a trajectory of… whatever people want to call it: legendary career, all-time great or whatever. You see the impact that he had on the game of basketball and obviously with the Celtics. He won three championships, three MVPs in a row, which is incredible. You just suddenly start to see that… you both scored 60-points in a game and you start getting mentioned in ‘the only other Celtic to do this’ and then obviously once you win a championship, you can be in those rooms with the Celtics legends. But it doesn’t just stop at one, you obviously got to win multiple and that’s what we’re trying to do. I always wanted to be the best and he’s in my opinion the best Celtic ever. He did it the right way. And he’s a great guy to chase in a sense.”

Tatum joins Bird as the only players in Celtics history to record a 40-point triple-double and he just passed Bird for the most playoff points scored in the first seven seasons. As Tatum continues, he’ll eventually pass Bird when it comes to stats. He’s currently on pace to pass Bird’s Celtics record of averaging at least 25 points per game in five consecutive seasons.

Last year in Indiana, Tatum and Bird met for the first time ahead of the All-Star game. It was right before tipoff when Tatum noticed him on the sidelines and introduced himself to the legend. This is Tatum reflecting on it a year later:

“It was cool… a lot taller than I thought. I ran over to him and said ‘man, it’s an honor to meet you’ and he was just like ‘likewise. I love watching you play’ and happy for my success. So that was just a cool moment, one of the greatest players of all-time acknowledging you even if it’s for a brief moment. Just as a young guy, it’s something I’ll always be able to cherish.”

Tatum doesn’t necessarily have all of the hardware that Bird does, but he just secured his first championship and has a lot of time to catch up to Bird.

In just eight years, Tatum is a six-time All-Star with five consecutive starts. Three straight All-NBA First Team selections, and two finals appearances, winning one. He also has two Gold Medals with Team USA.

Tatum is on the right path.

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