Indianapolis — Jayson Tatum treats every trip to the gas station like a scavenger hunt. Sure, he’s there to fill up the Rolls, but the true testament to his success and accomplishments is in the snack aisle.
A bag of chips with his face on it is among the foods he used to eat as a child.
“If we’re at a gas station, I always still buy my bag of chips because I used to dream about moments like these,” Tatum added with a grin on his face.
Basketball comes naturally to him, regardless of the stage. The court is one spot that hasn’t changed. Everything else about the work has required some adjustment.
“I’ve realized that more now, just because I blinked and I remember my first game like it was yesterday,” Tatum went on to say. “So, now that I’m in year seven and still feel so young, I can picture a moment when this s— will come to an end. I’m just attempting to maximize that window.”
While Tatum has spent nearly every season of his career on the verge of a title, his closest call resulted in his most profound realization.
In the 2022 NBA Finals, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, and the Warriors utterly took him out of his element. Tatum had developed into a good enough playmaker to run the offense, but not all the way. He needed to learn
It was reminiscent of his junior year of high school, when he lost in the Missouri state playoffs when the defenders doubled him and took the ball out of his hands. Instead of taking time off, a disappointed Tatum returned to the gym the next day to work toward capturing the title the next season.
Some years later, he encountered a similar issue at the highest level. He didn’t know how to use double teams to keep his teammates free so the Celtics’ attack didn’t stall. Now that he’d witnessed what it was like to win a championship up close, he decided to spend the summer developing as a new player.
