Ex-Boston Celtics Teammate Sends Jayson Tatum Emotional Message
![Oct 8, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) walks up the court during a break in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports Oct 8, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) walks up the court during a break in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4404,h_2477,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/fastbreak/01j57anm82mqh3qp1fhm.jpg)
Jayson Tatum spent his summer with Team USA at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
After winning the 2024 NBA Championship over the Dallas Mavericks, Tatum also won his second career Gold medal two months later.
That said, he did not get a lot of playing time (and did not appear in two games).
Jayson Tatum is leading the NBA in playoff points, threes, free throws and wins in the 2020s.
β StatMuse (@statmuse) August 8, 2024
Steve Kerr is giving him 0 minutes in an elimination game. pic.twitter.com/khOtGy6v3o
After the Olympics, Tatum made a post to Instagram that had over 650,000 likes and 4,000 comments.
Tatum captioned his post: "ππ«‘"
One person who left a comment was Tatum's former Celtics teammate Tremont Waters.
His comment had over 900 likes.
Waters wrote: "Congrats bro ππ½π«π«Άπ½ donβt pay the hate NO MIND!! Straight from a CHAMPIONSHIP π to a GOLD MEDAL π₯ AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF BASKETBALL THERE IS!! To hell with the hate my boy ππ½π― LOVE YOURZ"
Waters is one of many players who have stuck up for Tatum over the previous two weeks.
Former Celtics All-Star Isaiah Thomas predicted that Tatum will win the 2025 MVP.
Via Thomas: "Tatum will be MVP next season!! Watch π"
Tatum will be MVP next season!! Watch π
β Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) August 10, 2024
Tatum is coming off another dominant season where he made his fifth straight NBA All-Star Game.
The former Duke star averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.0 steals per contest while shooting 47.1% from the field and 37.6% from the three-point range in 74 games.
As for Waters, he was the 51st pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and spent part of two seasons with Boston.
He most recently played in the NBA during the 2021-22 season with the Wizards and Raptors.