Why Mazzulla thinks Tatum’s Olympic benching was ‘a gift’

Why Mazzulla thinks Tatum’s Olympic benching was ‘a gift’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Jayson Tatum just won his first NBA championship in a season where he was elected to the All-NBA first team for the third consecutive year. And yet, he should still have plenty of motivation and hunger heading into the 2024-25 season.

Great players always carry that grudge on their shoulder, even after they win.

For Tatum, he still has a lot to accomplish. He didn’t win the Finals MVP last season. Jaylen Brown was the deserving winner after a fantastic performance against the Dallas Mavericks. So that’s an accolade Tatum can aim for. And get. absent from two matches at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with the American team should also serve as a source of motivation for Tatum.

Tatum said Tuesday at Celtics media day Coach Joe Mazzulla was “probably the happiest person” after the star forward failed to win Finals MVP and endured adversity during the Olympics. He also added: “If you know Joe, it makes sense.”

Mazzulla wants the best for his players, and he knows these difficult experiences will only help Tatum as he continues his career.

He went into detail after Wednesday’s training.

“I think it feels like love,” Mazzulla told reporters when asked about Tatum’s comment, as seen in the video above. “It’s just the way I love him, the relationship that we have, and I appreciate that he accepts my perspective and the way that we talk about it. But at the end of the day, he’s 26 years old, and I just told him, listen, you’ve accomplished so much in this league and, take a step back and appreciate it, and be grateful that you have, God willing, 10, 12, 14 years left in this league — who knows what you’re going to see.”

“And I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet because of his hard work and his willingness to improve. So I thought it was great that he had something to work toward. And sometimes when you’re successful, you don’t have that new hunger right in front of you.

“Sometimes you have to wait. Sometimes it’s a loss, sometimes it’s a losing streak, and he was able to do it right in front of him. So I thought it was a gift. That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be upset about it. I didn’t want to ruin the effect it might have on him in real time because I wasn’t there. But as a coach and as someone who really cares about him, I thought it was great because it gives him something to work towards.”

Mazzulla has a special relationship with his players, and this is another example. He knows which buttons to push to maximize their production on the field and keep them focused on the team’s goals.

Complacency has been a problem for many defending champions in NBA history, but after hearing from Mazzulla and the Celtics players Conference at Media Day Earlier this week, it doesn’t appear that this team is plagued by this problem.