Jane Njoku

Jayson Tatum came back for training camp with a new back tattoo, another gold medal and a chip on his shoulder. He was accompanied by trusty colleague Jaylen Brown. 

Tatum appeared for his eighth NBA season on Tuesday after helping the Boston Celtics win an 18th championship and joining the U.S team for its victory at the Paris Olympics. He did all that to become a supporting character and got benched for two matches in the middle of the tournament. 

“In real time, it was tough,” Tatum said at the Celtics Media Day, acknowledging “I guess you could say that” it would motivate him when the Celtics try to repeat as NBA champions.

“Did I need any extra motivation coming into the season? No,” said Tatum, whose new ink is a picture of himself cradling the championship trophy. “It was a unique circumstance — something I haven’t experienced before in my playing career. But I’m a believer that everything happens for a reason.”

Boston return to practice on Wednesday, and the biggest threat to a repeat championship may be how complacent they could be after winning the first one. That is why Tatum’s Olympic disgrace might just be what Joe Mazzulla needs to keep his star player on track. 

He was also overlooked for Finals MVP in favor of his teammate Jaylen Brown, who due to coming into the league a year earlier, was the highest-paid player in the NBA. 

“Joe was probably the happiest person in the world that I didn’t win Finals MVP, and I didn’t play in two of the games of the Olympics,” Tatum said. “So that was odd. But if you know Joe, that makes sense.”

Also smarting from a wounded ego is Brown, who was not chosen to join the Olympic squad and used social media to complain about being snubbed. Reporters wasted no time in asking him about it. 

“Damn. Question No. 1,” Brown said with a laugh. “Don’t I get to warm up a little?”

“The past is the past,” he said. “I’m extremely motivated, for obvious reasons. I’m ready to get after it.”

The Celtics had the shortest offense in the NBA, defeating the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals on June 17. They then go back to practice a week earlier than most of the league because they open the preseason in Abu Dhabi on October 4th. Three of them did not get the summer off: Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White all competed for the United States at France. 

Holiday said the break was enough.

“I love this game, so basketball isn’t like a hassle to me or anything,” he said. “I guess I love this job that I have. I had some great experiences this summer, so I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

Boston is back with the exact roster that won it all: Fifteen players return from last year’s team, including their top 11 scorers. The last NBA team to win back-to-back titles was the Golden State Warriors, who won three in four seasons from 2015-18.

“It was never about trying to just win one,” Tatum said. “All the guys I looked up to growing up won at least one championship. Now it’s just a conversation of  how great are you trying to be?”