Despite finishing with the best record in the Eastern Conference and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2016-2017 campaign, the Boston Celtics won the draft lottery in 2017, courtesy of the trade that sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets back in 2013.
Boston would later trade the top pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the number three pick and a future first-rounder, which ended up being Romeo Langford.
With the first pick, Philadelphia went on to select former Washington Huskies’ star Markelle Fultz, allowing Jayson Tatum to fall to the Celtics at number three, in what wound up being a major mistake by Philadelphia.
Fultz appeared in just 33 games in two seasons for the 76ers before being traded to the Orlando Magic in 2016. Meanwhile, Tatum has completely tormented the 76ers.
The 25-year-old is 12-4 in his postseason career against the 76ers and is a perfect 3-0 in series play. Most recently, Tatum dropped 51 points in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Philly, setting an NBA record for most points in a Game 7 in NBA history.
Now the four-time All-Star is taking shots at the 76ers off the court.
Tatum joined comedian and actor Kevin Hart to kick off season nine of his show “Cold as Balls,” to discuss everything from his rise in basketball to fatherhood and his candy business, “Small wins.”
Hart is also a known die-hard Philly fan, which led to plenty of banter between the two. When asked about how close he believes his Celtics are to raising a championship banner, Tatum noted the offseason changes to the roster.
“Our teams looks a little different, which I’m excited and sad about,” Tatum said. “Smart and Grant are gone, but we got some great new additions.”
Hart responded, “One thing that stands in the way of that is the Philadelphia 76ers,” to which Tatum countered quickly, “Do they?”
Tatum and the Celtics open preseason play against the 76ers on Sunday, October 8, at TD Garden, as part of the team’s five-game preseason slate.
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