Jayson Tatum’s expertise on the 2024 Paris Olympics as one in every of three Boston Celtics representatives to hitch LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and a stacked USA Basketball gold medal-winning roster wasn’t glamorous, however that is not the way in which NFL nice Tom Brady appears to be like on the run.
USA Basketball head coach Steve Kerr benched Tatum for everything of two Olympic matchups, together with a nail-biting semifinal battle towards Nikola Jokić and Serbia whereas offering a lame “math downside” excuse. That redirected the discourse, which ought to’ve been centered round Tatum’s championship leap as a selfless chief, to trigger for making the delicate case of Tatum being undeserving of taking part in for Crew USA. Nevertheless, watching from afar, Brady gained an immense quantity of respect for Tatum.
“A real skilled! A real champion! And a fantastic teammate!” Brady commented Thursday on SportsCenter’s Instagram. “We should always have a good time individuals who care extra in regards to the group success than the person success! There are such a lot of individuals concerned in each group who do not at all times play a “beginning” position however play an enormous position within the success of the group. I’ve extra respect for Jayson Tatum now greater than ever! now that is what we must be instructing our youngsters!”
Tatum’s praises stood restricted all through the Olympics and the NBA playoffs. As a substitute of crediting the now-NBA’s highest-paid famous person ever, Tatum’s field rating was being stalked routinely because the struggling taking pictures splits overtook the power to get teammates concerned and extra importantly, preserve the Celtics within the win column — Boston went 16-3 within the postseason. No, Tatum wasn’t awarded Finals MVP, however that wasn’t the first aim instilled in head coach Joe Mazulla’s locker room tradition. As Brady did below ex-New England Patriots head coach Invoice Belichick for twenty years, Tatum purchased into the imaginative and prescient designed for Boston’s final aim: a championship.
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It is no shock why Brady, a seven-time Tremendous Bowl champion, can vouch for and empathize with somebody of Tatum’s place: a younger star tasked with performing as much as a number of the highest requirements conceivable whereas additionally answerable for main a proficient Celtics group to nice heights. That is the door Tatum walked by way of to start final season and the identical one awaiting the 26-year-old on Oct. 22.
