Celtics Taking Notice of Jayson Tatum's Growth as a Leader

Tatum's maturation in this role carries added value as the Celtics rely even more on their core's leadership to guide them in their championship pursuit this season.

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Jayson Tatum is coming off a campaign where he earned All-NBA First Team honors and helped guide the Celtics to the Finals. Regarding how he carries out his responsibilities as a team leader, while some might question if he needs to be more vocal, he's well aware it's not enough for him to lead by example exclusively.

After the Celtics' first training camp session on Tuesday, Al Horford conveyed about Tatum's leadership, "he had his moments during the regular season last year, but for me, he was very instrumental. People probably don't know this much, but he was very vocal during the playoffs. Right from the beginning. Staying on us."

Two days later, Derrick White, who first played alongside Tatum for Team USA in 2019, said of the latter's maturation as a leader, "it's grown a lot from when I was with him at (Team) USA to last year and then, obviously, this training camp. He does a lot of talking, pulling guys to the side, seeing how we can get the best look in whatever it might be, so we definitely see that maturity and the growth."

When Tatum weighed in on the matter while speaking with the media following a post-practice workout on Thursday, he stated, "I feel like I’m very vocal. I might not be the loudest guy, especially in front of the camera, but to the guys in that locker room, when we're at practice or on the plane, or on the court, my presence is felt."

With Ime Udoka suspended for the 2022-23 campaign and Joe Mazzulla going from sitting behind the bench a season ago to becoming Boston's interim head coach, the Celtics will rely even more on the leadership from the core of their roster to overcome the challenges that arise as the season unfolds.

Further Reading

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