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Jayson Tatum received a technical foul on Friday night's clash against the Denver Nuggets at home. The Boston Celtics hosted the Nuggets at TD Garden on January 19 resulting in the hosts losing recording their first home defeat of the season with 100-102. Tatum continued to be a target for the NBA officials as he received another technical after slamming a dunk. The Celtics’ star got his 7th technical foul of the season midway through the second quarter of the game, turning fans’ excitement into frustration within seconds.
With six minutes left in the second quarter, Tatum took the ball in transition to complete a dunk, while he was interrupted by a few defenders on his way to the end. The 25-year-old posterised Peyton Watson to complete the sequence, and in the momentum of the play, he ended up swinging on the rim. Tatum tried to slow down his pace before eventually falling back to the court.
As soon as he landed, the officials handed him a technical foul based on how he hung on the rim for an extra second. Tatum, along with the other Celtics’ players and coaching staff, pled his case with the officials, for no benefit. Tatum’s intent could be to ensure his safety to avoid landing hard, to avoid falling on anyone below him. This wasn’t the first case Tatum received such foul.
Back in November 2023, the Missouri-born was given the same foul and he didn’t hold himself back from voicing his opinion. He said, “That’s a rule that they just implemented that, quite frankly, I don’t think makes any sense. Anybody that’s ever played or dunked the ball, you know your momentum … just trying to make sure you’re stable when you land and make sure nobody’s underneath you.” As per the league’s rules, players aren’t allowed to hang on the rim, “unless they are doing so to avoid injury to themselves or another player.” Tatum finished the night with 22 points and eight rebounds.
