1192 Miles Away, Ryan Helsley & Cardinals Turn Jayson Tatum For 1 Day to Bless Celtics Star’s NBA Finals Run

While the Celtics have won the first two games of the NBA Finals, their superstar Jayson Tatum has not had a particularly good performance so far. In both games, he failed to cross the 20-point mark while shooting horribly from the floor. Some are even speculating that even if the Celtics win this series, Tatum might not bag the Finals MVP trophy. After protecting their home court twice, the Cs will head into enemy territory tomorrow, hoping to win at least one on the road. And to motivate Tatum to ball out in Game 3, he got a little unexpected support from MLB star Ryan Helsley and the Cardinals with a wholesome gesture.

About 1192 miles away from Boston lies the hometown of Jayson Tatum in St. Louis, Missouri. So, to show support for their local kid playing in the finals, the entire team of the St. Louis Cardinals wore a Tatum jersey in the warmups ahead of their Pittsburgh Pirates game. Overwhelmed by the gesture, JT even shared a picture of the players covered in green on his Instagram story and wrote, “Cardinals much love.”

The Cardinals’ social media page shared the pictures of their stars supporting JT, penning, “Repping the hometown kid, @jaytatum0! 🍀” The mastermind behind this gesture turned out to be none other than Ryan Helsley. With great interest in basketball and even the self-proclaimed “best hooper in the bullpen,” Ryan was the one who surprised his teammates with Tatum jerseys. “We’re a team within a team down there and I thought it would be cool if we rocked his jersey out there for a few days while they’re in the finals,” Helsley said. Hopefully, this special support will help Tatum regain his rhythm and get back on track.

Why could Jayson Tatum miss out on Finals MVP?

When you think about the best player on the Celtics roster, most people’s mind immediately goes to Jayson Tatum. With the most individual accolades than any of his teammates, JT is certainly the biggest superstar on the team. But that has not shown in his performance in these finals so far. Starting from the first game, Tatum scored only 16 points on 6 of 16 shooting. Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown led the team in scoring while a returning Kristaps Porzingis shot lights out to help the Celtics win.

And then, in the second game, JT was again limited to just 18 points on an even less efficient shooting night than the first game. And this time, he was outscored by Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday. Even Jason Kidd tried to take advantage of this situation and deemed Brown the best player on the Celtics roster, maybe to cause a rift in the opponents’ locker room.

Yes, winning is more important than individual stats for both teams right now. But if this trend continues, Tatum might not win Finals MVP even if he wins his first Championship ring. More importantly, he already missed out on the East Finals MVP to Jaylen Brown. And another missed trophy could hurt his legacy going forward.

Before you go, do not forget to check out what Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about Caitlin Clark’s meteoric rise to stardom. Keep checking this space for more such updates.