It’s not uncommon for some NBA stars to sit out a few games in order to keep themselves fresh throughout the grind of the 82-game season. Jayson Tatum is not one of those stars.
The Boston Celtics forward has missed just 33 games throughout his entire six-year career. That’s the same number of games Kawhi Leonard — widely viewed as the face of load management — missed for the Los Angeles Clippers last season alone, if you include his three absences in the playoffs.
Tatum has yet to miss more than eight games in a single season. That number might have been fewer had head coach turned general manager Brad Stevens not been a proponent of resting Tatum against his desires.
In front of young basketball campers at his inaugural Jayson Tatum Elite Camp Tatum held last week, the 25-year-old harped on his reasoning for not taking games off.
“Man, I don’t decide ‘s–t, we’re playing the Hornets tonight, Imma [sic] chill.’ I only get to go to Charlotte two times a year. Somebody paid their money to come watch me play,” said Tatum. “Not trying to be arrogant, but there’s a bunch of kids in there with my shoes and my jersey on.
“And just because we’re playing Charlotte on NBA League Pass on a Monday that ain’t nobody f—ing watching, I’m chilling tonight. That’s not what the best players do. … Ranked player or not, big game or not big game, compete. Play basketball. Don’t take this s–t for granted.”
As real as it gets. 👏 @jaytatum0 @jumpman23 pic.twitter.com/Q7o3CxaH9j
— EliteYouthBasketball (@NikeEYB) July 25, 2023
It’s only fitting that Tatum gave his speech with a Jumpman logo on his shirt.
That’s the same type of mentality that Michael Jordan used to push himself to play almost every game. The Chicago Bulls legend famously tried to put on a show every single night just in case there was a fan in the stands who had never seen him play. Jordan was not going to disappoint anyone who came to watch him.
Kobe Bryant, Tatum’s mentor and idol, also operated with a similar mentality. It’s no surprise that the Celtics star is trying to do the same.
