For Boston Celtics fans, Wednesday night's game against the Golden State Warriors was Jayson Tatum's chance to exact "revenge" on Steve Kerr for benching him twice at the 2024 Paris Olympics. For Tatum, however, it was just another Wednesday.
The Celtics star shut down the "revenge" narrative after Boston's 118-112 loss to Golden State, insisting any injustice Kerr caused him over the summer wasn't on his mind and calling out those who expected him to be more fiery Wednesday night.
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"People want me to be louder. People want me to be mean or whatever," Tatum said. "One thing about Jayson is like, I'm always going to do what the f--- I want to do and approach things the way I want to approach and what I feel is sincere to who I am as a person."
Tatum clearly is comfortable with how he approaches the game, regardless of whether people like it or not. That self-confidence is very impressive to former Celtics guard Eddie House, who saw first-hand what happens when superstars try to play outside themselves.
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House was a member of the 2010-11 Miami Heat in the first season of the "Big Three" era after LeBron James famously took his talents to South Beach to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. And as House explained Thursday on Arbella Early Edition, James was so caught up with sending a message to his detractors after leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers that it impacted his game that season.
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"He was angry, and LeBron never played the game angry," House said. "He always was happy, had fun and was happy-go-lucky. It was all about his teammates and stuff. (But) he had a chip on his shoulder because how everybody reacted to The Decision, and he wasn't the best version of himself."
While James still had a strong statistical season, his Heat superteam fell to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals. James was the same age as Tatum at the time (26), so House lauds Tatum's ability at such a young age to stay true to himself -- especially because it delivers results.
"I think self-recognition and self-reflection is the best thing that Jayson Tatum has," House said. "He might not be a guy who plays well angry! If you're mad, you go out there, you're so mad and you're amped up to try to stick it to somebody and be like, 'Man, I'm about to give it to them' and then you're not the best version of yourself.
"I think the way that he handled it is something that everybody just has to embrace. He's not going to be Michael Jordan. He's not going to be the guy that comes in like, 'I'm going to be this killer.' He's going to be a killer when you look at the stats and play the game, but he's not going to be a guy like Kobe (Bryant). That's not his personality, and that's OK, because he still is able deliver the championship. He's still an All-NBA player and Olympic gold medalist.
"So at the end of the day, he's as decorated as they come, and this is the way he goes about it."
Criticisms of Tatum's mindset may have held more weight earlier in his career, but to House's point, they ring hollow now that Tatum has an NBA championship, two Olympic gold medals, three All-NBA First Teams and more on his resume. Even in Wednesday's loss to the Warriors, Tatum delivered a strong showing with 32 points on 10 of 20 shooting.
Tatum is embracing the mindset that helps him play his best basketball, and the results speak for themselves.
Hear more from Eddie House on Tatum in the video below or on YouTube.
