Jayson Tatum Continues To Set The Example Of Exactly What An NBA Superstar Should Be, Both On And Off The Court

Boston Globe. Getty Images.

With the older generation of NBA stars finally on the back 9 of their careers, there's often a debate as to who will be the next face of the NBA as the league moves into a post-LeBron/Steph/KD world. There are certainly plenty of worthy candidates of guys who are in their late 20s, but from the "younger" group? A guy like Jayson Tatum is a name you hear a lot. Very good player, plays for an iconic franchise who happens to be pretty damn good, and oh yeah, he's basically one of the greatest humans on earth

As someone who has listened to every interview, podcast, TV appearance Tatum has ever made, it's awesome to see how much better he is at these things. That comes with age and maturity and experience and all that stuff, but what you're looking at in that video is the future face of the NBA. Tatum gets it. I could argue he's actually the least problematic superstar the NBA has. This is a man that pretty much only cares about basketball, hanging with Deuce, and as we learned in that video using his foundation to help create generational wealth for low income single parent families.

I know that because of the team he plays for and the fact that he's sent home so many other stars from the playoffs over the course of his career, the internet loves slandering Jayson Tatum. It's mostly 15 year olds who have a troll account like @GiannisBeast324786 or @EMVPiid420 or something along those lines, but when you see him dominate on the court the way he does and then you see the work he does off the court, I just don't understand the hate. Is it because he's a Celtic? Who knows.

In fact, stuff like this is pretty common when it comes to Boston Celtics star players. Let's not forget what Jaylen Brown talked about when he signed his supermax extension earlier this summer

Life is bigger than basketball (or so I hear), and as a Celts fan who has seen the growth of both of these guys since they entered the league, it's stuff like this that makes me proud they are the ones who are leading this franchise. I think Grande said it best

Neither of these guys have to give a shit about any of this stuff. They are set for life. But using their position in life to improve the lives of others is what truly matters. Sure, we all care about what they do on the court and winning a title and all that. But what they do off the court is just as important if not more important. That impacts real change and it's awesome to see both Tatum and Brown be proactive in making a difference.

In terms of the on the court stuff, I'd just like to point out how this Jayson Tatum fella has been playing since we got to 2024. You know the classic Tatum schedule meme?

Well…

Tatum has been right on schedule. I'm not sure people realize that Tatum leads the best team in the NBA in points, rebounds, assists, 3PM and is only 3 steals behind Jaylen Brown for the team lead in that as well. All this talk about how this is a "down" year for Tatum and I'm not sure what people are watching exactly. I might argue he's never played better on both ends of the floor, but what do I know? I'm just someone who watches every single dribble the man takes. 

I also loved his response when he was asked about winning the title and this season so far. That's a guy who has the right perspective and understands what it takes to win. Whether they pull it off or not is TBD, but I'll just leave you with this

2008 you say? Decent year imo.