Jayson Tatum Receives Technical Foul for Hanging on Rim After Slam Dunk

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum ignited the TD Garden crowd on Friday night with an impressive steal and an emphatic slam dunk during the game. However, the excitement quickly turned to frustration when the officials called a technical foul on Tatum for hanging on to the rim too long after scoring.

Midway through the second quarter, Tatum displayed his defensive skills by committing a steal on the Celtics’ end of the parquet. He then raced down the court, maneuvering past a cluster of defenders, and posterized Peyton Watson to complete the sequence. The dunk, an awe-inspiring moment, led Tatum to hold on to the rim for an extra second. Unfortunately, the referee crew wasted no time in assessing him a technical foul.

Tatum, alongside his teammates and coaching staff, expressed their disagreement with the call, but their arguments fell on deaf ears. Meanwhile, it appeared that Watson may have gotten away with a foul of his own during the play. He jumped in sync with Tatum and seemed to swat at the Celtics’ star player’s wrist mid-dunk.

This is not the first time Tatum has received a technical for hanging on the rim this season. In November, he was also penalized in a similar situation and expressed his frustration with the rule postgame. Tatum questioned the rationale behind the rule, stating that it doesn’t make any sense considering the desire to ensure a safe landing and avoid endangering other players.

The rule states that players are not allowed to hang on to the rim, except when doing so in order to prevent injury to themselves or another player. Considering Tatum’s physical momentum and the presence of multiple players beneath him immediately after the dunk, he can certainly make a compelling case that he held on for safety purposes.