Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum thanked God on Monday night after his team claimed the NBA championship — but perhaps not for the reason you think.
Tatum was careful to say that his gratitude to God didn’t stem from the big win. Instead, it stemmed from how God had helped him throughout the season.
“First of all, God is the greatest,” Tatum said during a postgame interview, according to NBC Sports. “Not because we won, but to put me in position to maximize my God-given ability to surround me with these guys, my family — this is an incredible feeling.”
Thanking God for a win
Because of his clarification, Tatum will likely avoid the backlash that sometimes meets athletes and coaches who thank God after a game.
Sports fans and faith leaders alike have criticized those who act as if God wanted them to win.
For example, Dawn Staley, head coach of the South Carolina women’s basketball team, sparked controversy earlier this year during the NCAA Tournament when she said that God had answered her team’s prayers and that “if you don’t believe in God, something’s wrong with you,” as the Deseret News previously reported.
People took to X to question whether it’s appropriate to claim that God cares about the outcome of a game.
“I am not anti religion and consider myself a Christian but it makes me so uncomfortable when its invoked re: winning sports games,” tweeted Lindsay Gibbs, who writes a newsletter on women’s sports, about Staley’s quote.
Boston Celtics share their faith
Tatum was not the only member of the Celtics organization to thank God after Monday’s win.
Jaylen Brown, who was named Finals MVP, said during the trophy presentation that his “faith in the most high” enabled him to let go of anxiety and doubt this season and take his game to a new level.
And Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was seen wearing a shirt after the game that said, “But first... Let me thank God.”