Draymond says little ‘depression’ for Celtics after Finals win

Draymond says little ‘depression’ for Celtics after Finals win originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area

With four NBA championships under his belt, Warriors star Draymond Green has plenty of familiarity with emotions to win a title.

So after the Celtics won the NBA Finals on Monday night, Green shared his thoughts on what Boston’s stars will likely experience mentally in the coming weeks and months.

“The feeling that he’s going through right now and experiencing — that height, that cloud that he’s going through in life — in a few weeks, he’s going to go through that space of almost depression,” Green said of Boston star Jayson Tatum.

Tatum is on top of the world right now, which will last “three to four weeks,” Green continued.

But once the feelings and perks of being a recent NBA champion wear off, things will get tougher for the Celtics’ best players, with Green specifically referring to Tatum.

“The reason for this depression is, ‘Man, that felt so good. My biggest fear right now is that I will never feel that feeling again,’” Green said. “And guess what, at that moment, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. … You have to wait at least a whole year; at most, it is infinite.”

The Celtics have as much chance as anyone else of being right back to the top of the NBA mountain next season, with the team keeping practically all of its rotation pieces.

Still, nothing is guaranteed in the NBA, as injuries can occur and elite players often ask to be traded – even far from the best teams in the league.

As a result, Green’s comments seem perhaps like advice to Tatum and recently crowned Finals MVP Jaylen Brown. Few players have been as fortunate as Green to achieve that championship feeling multiple times, so it’s important that these young Celtics stars remain level-headed now that they’ve reached a new phase in their careers.

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