Celtics
“I had a while yesterday,” Tatum mentioned.
Jayson Tatum heard that Brandon Jennings known as him the softest celebrity in Celtics historical past.
He responded with an Instagram put up stuffed with images and video highlights. The caption mocked Jennings’s feedback.
“SoFtesT SuPeRstar in CeLtiC HiStoRy,” Tatum wrote, adopted by the grinning face with sweat emoji.
Jennings, 35, has not performed in an NBA sport since 2018. He by no means gained a championship or made an All-Star staff. Tatum is averaging nearly twice as many factors in his profession than Jennings did.
So, why did Tatum resolve to clap again?
“I don’t know. I had a while yesterday,” Tatum mentioned, smiling as he scratched his beard.
Tatum mentioned he wasn’t upset or stunned in regards to the feedback. He felt like responding and had the time to take action.
“Stunned? No,” Tatum mentioned. “I feel it comes with being among the best gamers within the league, and the extra you accomplish, the extra it offers folks the chance to nitpick at issues.
“If I wasn’t who I used to be or at a sure standing, folks would most likely not speak about me as a lot. However, you recognize, I’m not the primary celebrity in league historical past to cope with this. It comes with it.”
Earlier than Friday’s 114-97 loss to Sacramento, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla mentioned he had proven Tatum and Brown timelines of previous NBA stars and what was being mentioned about them at the start, center, and finish of their careers.
Mazzulla discovered it humorous how a lot folks’s opinions a few specific participant can change over time. Tatum mentioned the tactic was considerably useful.
“I assume it helps, seeing it, placing issues in perspective,” Tatum mentioned. “It’s nothing that I didn’t already know.”
“You’ve gotten the web, you’ll be able to take a look at a number of the ridiculous takes that individuals on TV have mentioned about a number of the greatest gamers to play this sport that didn’t essentially age properly,” he continued. “Whenever you see a number of the feedback that they made about sure guys, and also you see how their careers turned out, you’ve simply acquired to giggle. It’s simply a part of the journey.”
Friday evening’s sport was one Tatum’s Celtics would most likely wish to overlook. They fell to the De’Aaron Fox-less Kings at TD Backyard.
“I don’t need to blame why we misplaced on it being a lure sport,” Tatum mentioned. “All people performs 82 video games. All people travels. All people performs back-to-backs. Don’t need to use that as an excuse. Simply observationally, we’ve acquired to be higher in all phases of the sport.”
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