By definition — and assumption — Jayson Tatum is now the kind of player who passes for a superstar in a league obsessed with them.
But the 24-year-old Celtics star was left pondering that growing opinion of who he is on Tuesday.
“Whatever that means, right?” he said after practice. “I’ve seen there’s a huge debate: is he a superstar or is he not? I want to know where that came from. Did I tweet that? Did I ever say I’m a superstar, I’m on the verge?
“That never came from me. It’s been a big deal this last year and a half or two years. I see it all the time,” he said. “There’s always been a question in the back of my head, I wonder who spoke on my behalf or said that or why that was such a big deal. If you win a championship, they can debate a lot of things. They can’t debate whether or not you’re a champion.
“It’s been a lot. This is a dream come true, playing in the Finals. As a competitor, you know, this is what you work for, right?” said Tatum. “You want to be the last team standing. You want to hold up that trophy. I think to have the golden opportunity right at your fingertips, just taking full advantage of it. You don’t want to have any regrets when it’s all said and done. Win or lose, you want to feel that you gave it your all. That’s all you can ask of anybody.”
Tatum has clearly become comfortable on the international stage — maybe partially due to his Olympic gold medal experience — and has invited his four-year-old son to be part of the journey.
Indeed, Deuce Tatum, in a few years, might want to take a run at mayor of Boston. He already has the appropriate level of recognition. By now, Tatum simply considers his famous fathership to be natural.
“I think 2017 when I got drafted, I didn’t have Deuce, but he was born in 2017, so that was the biggest year of my life, right?” he said. “Starting this new chapter in my career, I just had a child. My mindset was not to sacrifice either, that I was going to be the best father as I could as well as the best basketball player.
“There was no guideline or there was no, you know, exact way to do it. It was all about what was natural. I think that’s what it is. I just do what’s natural. I’m around him every day. I think being able to go through this journey together, because I was 19 when I got drafted, it’s kind of like we’re growing up together. As he’s gotten older, I’m going through my career, sharing these moments, experiencing this together as we grow up. I think it’s the coolest part for me.”
Tatum will leave it to others to determine whether he’s trying to set an example for other fathers.
“I don’t know if it’s intentional as much as it’s just natural and what we do,” he said. “I realize that I do have a platform and things like that. If I am a role model for young fathers around the world, that’s great. I think we need more role models like that. Just to have more male fathers be present and things like that, show that you can do both, regardless of whenever you work, whatever your profession is.”
