Jayson Tatum has seen a difference in how Boston Celtics fans interact with him over the years. Since sports betting became more prevalent, his interaction with fans has been based on how his performances have affected their parlays. Tatum noted that he feels bad if he costs fans money but also that some of the interactions can be funny.
Still, it’s worth noting that Tatum is trying to win, which doesn’t always mean scoring the basketball. Tatum’s comments occurred during a media availability at a shootaround ahead of the team’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday (March 28).
“I guess when you hit people’s parlays and do good (for their parlays), they’ll tell me, but they’ll also talk (expletive) if I’m on the court and didn’t get them 29 at half or whatever I was supposed to do,” Tatum said. “I mean, you see people on Twitter, you know, fans going back and forth with players on Twitter about how you lost their money and (expletive) like that, but I guess it’s kind of funny.”
Tatum has been a key figure for the Celtics this season, averaging 27.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 47.2% from the field and 37.8% from 3-point range.
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He will undoubtedly have a big role to play throughout the postseason. However, fans may need to accept that he won’t always hit the over on their parlays due to his team-first brand of basketball.
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