Seeing Jayson Tatum Finally Meet Larry Bird Was One Of The Most Surreal Moments Of My Celtics Fandom

I don't care how many times I watch that video (and we are approaching the thousands as of the writing of this blog), it still hits every single time. Of all the moments I watched during the All Star Weekend, nothing comes close to this. Not Jaylen in the Dunk Contest, not the Jays looking awesome in last night's fake game, none of it. This is it right here, this is the good stuff.

And while some out there are now using this opportunity to try and spin the fact that these two had never met before as some sort of "problem" for the Boston Celtics, I have just one thing to say to those people

Do not let them ruin this moment. 

Instead, focus on what Jayson Tatum had to say about the whole interaction

The second my eyes saw this moment

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I mean holy shit. Not only am I pretty sure we are witnessing a legitimate passing of the torch situation between these two, where based on my scientific research Larry Legend is transferring his basketball powers to Jayson Tatum ahead of a very, very, very important playoff push, look at that smile! Larry Bird never smiles!

For an old like me, it's hard to express how insane this moment is, and I wouldn't exactly expect a non Celtics fan or even a younger Celtics fan to truly grasp it. This was my Celtics past and my Celtics current/future all in one picture/moment. I got the same type of feeling watching this like I did when KG embraced Russell after the Celts won their title in 2008. It's iconic.

One of my biggest regrets in life is that I didn't find a way to be born sooner, thus missing all of prime Larry Bird. I got to see the fucked up back/early 90s Bird, and while that still ruled it was nothing like the stories I heard growing up about the legend of Larry Bird. Now fast forward a few decades, and if there's one player who keeps finding a way to do Larry Bird shit, it's Jayson Tatum

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You get the idea.

It's not a completely crazy idea that Tatum is currently on a path that would have him up there with the greatest Celtics of all time. I've gone my entire life without seeing a player do this much Larry Bird shit that wasn't actually Larry Bird, and I think it's fair to suggest that the only thing missing for Tatum is the titles. That's why that handshake between the two is so important. You can't convince me there isn't some playoff juju being exchanged there.

Not to add even more pressure, but this is what is at stake for Tatum should the Celtics win the title this season. He becomes an instant Celtics God. Notice I didn't say legend, I said God. If we live in a world where we see him win multiple? He'll get to enter whatever room Larry Bird resides in when it comes to Celtics greats. One title doesn't get him there, but a few does. I say let's start with 1 and see what happens, but that's just me.

For younger fans like me, that's what this moment served as. A bridge between two eras, and potentially two of the greatest Celtics we have ever seen. Calling Larry Bird Celtics royalty doesn't even do him justice. Growing up when I would close my eyes and think Boston Celtics, it was basically Bill Russell, Larry Bird, and Walter McCarty. A without a doubt member of the Celts Mount Rushmore, Bird was everything. For all we know, this was the final Infinity Stone.

If we're being honest, this was a moment I didn't think we'd ever get to see given that Bird basically has been off the grid for years now. The guy didn't even show up at the NBA Top 75 celebration. So the fact that we not only got it, but we got it this season with how the Celts are currently playing and what their expectations are has my brain going to dangerous places.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to fire this bad boy up so I can get a sense of the type of shit we can now fully expect to see in the second half of the season/playoffs now that these two have officially joined forces