Tatum talks lofty new goals: ‘Everything sounds crazy until you do it’

 

BOSTON — If Jayson Tatum is bothered by any summer disrespect, it is not apparent in this moment.

Tatum is strutting around a makeshift photo shoot inside the WGBH building across the street from the Celtics’ training facility in Brighton. He’s got the Larry O’Brien trophy slung in his right arm and a gold medal hanging from his neck. The mug he makes for the camera seems to ask if his detractors are, in fact, the ones who are mad.

See, Tatum isn’t worried about any Steves (Kerr, mostly). He’s not worried about any Richards (Jefferson, to be specific). No, the only thing that moves him right now is Larrys (both O’Brien and Bird).

On this day, everyone seems to want to know how Tatum plans to respond to Kerr’s limited use of him during the Olympics. Jefferson will soon suggest that you can plug any Top 10 superstar into Tatum’s role (picking Donovan Mitchell in his example) and the Celtics would still thrive, which at least partially discredits Tatum’s two-way impact on the team’s title run.

In a summer that should have been a coronation — with the four-time All-NBA wing winning a title and landing on the cover of NBA 2K25 — all the conversation around Tatum entering the new season is on whether he might find motivation from his detractors.

Tatum refuses to give those people any air. Well, except maybe his own coach, as Tatum playfully feigns exasperation at how Joe Mazzulla is one of the few in these parts who actually loves the very few things that have not tipped Tatum’s way lately.

“Obviously, if you know Joe, you get where he’s coming from,” said Tatum. “Everybody else is like, ‘Man, hold your head up.’ And Joe was like, ‘No, I’m happy. It’s good for you. You were at the top of the mountain. You got a new contract, 2K [cover], championship, and you go to the Olympics and it doesn’t go your way. How are you going to respond?'”

And that’s the question everyone keeps asking Tatum: How are you going to respond?

He smiles and gets diplomatic when, near the end of his media chores, he’s asked what exactly his response will be.

“It was good to get away from basketball for a little bit but I had so much fun last year with our group,” said Tatum. “I’ve been on teams that the cohesiveness isn’t as great. So when it is special — and we had so much fun throughout the season last year, we created so many memories, and we accomplished something that was going to bond us together forever.

“I missed being around the coaches and the guys on the team. So I’m really just happy to be back around.”

Truth is, Tatum’s to-do list is already pretty lengthy, and lofty. He doesn’t have time to deal with the minutiae. After running through the highlights of his summer, he’s asked what other boxes are left to check.

“I’ve got to check off MVP, Finals MVP, and rack up some more championships,” said Tatum.