Everyone knows about Jayson Tatum 's Olympic experience. The Boston Celtics star was benched in two games in Paris. Many felt bad for JT and believed he should not have gotten that kind of treatment from head coach Steve Kerr. One-time champ called it a humbling experience. Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla , however, looked at it differently.
Speaking to reporters during the Boston Celtics ' Media Day on Tuesday, the five-time NBA All-Star said that his head coach was thrilled to see him get benched in Paris as much as he was excited about him not winning the 2024 NBA Finals MVP award.
"In real-time, it was tough," Tatum said . "I talked to Joe a lot. Joe was probably the happiest person in the world that I didn't win Finals MVP and that I didn't play two of the games in the Olympics. So that was odd. But if you know Joe, it makes sense."
Mazzulla's unorthodox style
Joe has turned the Celtics into a champion team after just two seasons as head coach. That's excellent for a guy who was suddenly thrust into the role after the Ime Udoka scandal rocked the Celtics. Even more impressive is that he's done so using unconventional approaches.
Whether he's referencing Spiderman , killer whales, soccer, or UFC fights, Joe has a unique way of delivering his message to his players. And surprisingly, that unorthodox style has worked and brought together the Celtics. The buy-in led to the franchise winning a record 18th NBA championship this past season.
But while the Celtics accomplished the ultimate goal, it was a roller coaster ride for the best player on the team. Duke product was outplayed by Jaylen Brown in the Conference Finals with JB taking home the Larry Bird trophy as ECF MVP. In the championship series, JT produced better numbers, but Brown was also named Finals MVP. Then came the Olympics, where Tatum was benched twice.
Related: Ainge on what if Bird played in today's era: "I'm pretty confident that he would be shooting nine or ten 3-point shots per game"
Joe flew to Paris for Jayson
Knowing that his rough summer experience could affect his psyche, podcaster Bill Simmons revealed that Mazzulla flew to France so he could be by his star player's side. According to Simmons, Maz made the mile-long trip just to make sure that JT wasn't feeling bad.
"I think even when Tatum was struggling during the Olympics, Mazzulla flew out to France to kinda make sure everything was okay. That guy is locked in and knows his roster. I think the jump he made from Year 1 to Year 2 has been astounding. People love that dude," Simmons said .
Year 3 of the Mazzulla era even promises to be a more exciting one for Boston fans as they will try to win back-to-back titles, which is much harder. But as C's coach recently said, he doesn't want the target on their back. He wants it between their eyes so he can see the red dot. That's the one and only 'sicko' Joe, the one person who was happy when everyone was mad at Steve Kerr.
Related: Jayson Tatum on when he knew the Celtics were going to win the 2024 title: "It was going to be a good one"
Local News
