Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Michael McDaniel

Celtics' Jayson Tatum Shares Telling Quote About His Relationship With Joe Mazzulla

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum shared a telling story about his relationship with coach Joe Mazzulla. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics are preparing to defend their NBA title when the new season kicks off next month, and with training camp ready to get going on Wednesday, the team held its annual media day on Tuesday to begin the new year.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum had an interesting summer. First, he brought a NBA title back to the city of Boston for the first time since 2008. But the story became the fact that his All-Star teammate, Jaylen Brown, earned NBA Finals MVP instead of him.

Then, Tatum was benched in two games during Team USA's Olympic gold meal run, only furthering the narrative that he wasn't as important of a star as some make him out to be.

Naturally, the local media asked Tatum about Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla's reaction to the adversity that Tatum faced this summer, and his answer provides a telling look into the relationship that he has with his head coach.

"I talked to Joe a lot," Tatum said on Tuesday. "Joe was probably the happiest person in the world that I didn't win Finals MVP and I didn't play in two games at the Olympics. That was odd. But if you know Joe, it makes sense," Tatum quipped.

Tatum will not be short on motivation to prove his doubters wrong this season. Neither will Brown, who despite being named Eastern Conference finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP, was left off the Olympic basketball team.

The Celtics are the favorites in the Eastern Conference once again, and have plenty of motivation to defend their NBA title.


More of the Latest Around the NBA


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Celtics' Jayson Tatum Shares Telling Quote About His Relationship With Joe Mazzulla.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.