BOSTON (AP) – Jayson Tatum has a new tattoo on his back, another gold medal to hang around his neck, and a chip on his shoulder.
The Boston Celtics star reported for his eighth NBA season on Tuesday after an eventful few months in which he helped the franchise win an 18th championship and then joined the U.S. team for its victory at the Paris Games, only to be consigned to being a role-player and getting benched for two games in the middle of the Olympics.
“In real time, it was tough,” Tatum said at the Celtics media day, acknowledging “I guess you could say that” it would motivate him when the Celtics try to repeat as NBA champions.
“Did I need any extra motivation coming into the season? No,” said Tatum, whose new ink is a picture of himself cradling the championship trophy. “It was a unique circumstance – something I haven´t experienced before in my playing career. But I´m a believer that everything happens for a reason.”
The Celtics return to practice on Wednesday, and the biggest obstacle to a repeat championship may be the complacency that can set in after winning the first one. That’s why Tatum´s Olympic humiliation may be just what coach Joe Mazzulla was looking for to keep his star focused. (Tatum had also been bypassed for Finals MVP in favor of teammate Jaylen Brown, who also – by virtue of coming into the league a year earlier – was the highest-paid player in the NBA.)
“Joe was probably the happiest person in the world that I didn´t win Finals MVP, and I didn´t play in two of the games of the Olympics,” Tatum said. “So that was odd. But if you know Joe, that makes sense.”
Also nursing a bruised ego is Brown, who was not selected to the Olympic team and took to social media to complain about the snub. Reporters didn´t wait long before asking Brown about it.
“Damn. Question No. 1,” Brown said with a laugh. “Don´t I get to warm up a little?”
“The past is the past,” he said. “I´m extremely motivated, for obvious reasons. I´m ready to get after it.”
The Celtics had the shortest offseason in the league, beating Dallas in the NBA Finals on June 17 and then returning to practice about a week earlier than most of the NBA because they open the preseason in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 4. Three of them didn’t even get the summer off: Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White all played for the United States at the Olympics.
Holiday said the break was plenty.
“I love this game, so basketball isn´t like a hassle to me or anything,” he said. “I guess I love this job that I have. I had some great experiences this summer, so I wouldn´t trade that for anything.”
The Celtics return virtually the same roster that won it all: Fifteen players are back from last year’s team, including the top 11 scorers. The last NBA team to win back-to-back titles was the Golden State Warriors, who won three in four seasons from 2015-18.
“It was never about trying to just win one,” Tatum said. “All the guys I looked up to growing up won at least one championship. Now it´s just a conversation of how great are you trying to be?”
Mazzulla said having the same team back can be good or bad: New players would bring a new, unsatisfied hunger. But even with the same team, the season will be different and the team will be challenged to adjust.
“There´s pros and cons to both. If I had to choose one, I´d choose the one we have,” Mazzulla said. “Just because something worked before doesn´t mean it´s going to work again. So where do we have to stay the same and where we have to change?”
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said he remembers the offseason after he coached Butler to the NCAA championship game and lost on a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer. “You get patted on the back all summer, and you get told how great you are,” he said.
“For me, this is as good of a challenge as you´re going to get if you´re a competitor. So we should be excited about it,” Stevens said. “They understand the target they have. They understand how human nature will play a role against you. They´ve been through it. What we should have is the confidence to get through anything.”
And in case he needed any extra motivation, Stevens said he never got a chance to hang out with the championship trophy this summer.
“No one offered it to me,” he said. “Maybe that´s the next target, right? You´ve got to get another one and Year 2, you get a chance to take it for a day.”
Center Kristaps Porzingis, who had offseason surgery to fix the ankle injury that limited him to seven playoff games during the championship run, said he was recovering well.
“I don´t know if we´re interested in putting a timeline on him, because the injury is unique,” Stevens said. “We are very, very pleased where he is, and maybe a little surprised.”
Stevens said Luke Kornet (wrist) and Xavier Tillman Sr. (knee) also had procedures in the offseason and were on pace to be ready for the Oct. 22 opener against the New York Knicks.
White has spent much of the summer dealing with the dental problems arising from his face-plant in the clinching game of the Finals. White said he had three root canals last week and needs one more trip to the dentist to finish up.
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