Paul Pierce believes this has been Jayson Tatum’s top improvement this season
“It’s a sacrifice you gotta make to win it, and I’m seeing it in him."
Jayson Tatum has established himself as one of the NBA’s top stars for years now.
But the 26-year-old forward has taken another major step forward in 2023-24 — making a legitimate case for league MVP while leading a stacked Boston team that boasts the top record in the NBA.
Celtics legend Paul Pierce has seen firsthand the strides that Tatum has made over the past year — with the duo taking part in summer workouts following Boston’s disappointing exit in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.
Even during those offseason meetings, Pierce felt as though Tatum was ready to elevate his game to another level in 2023-24.
“I saw somebody that was motivated. Super motivated,” Pierce said of those workouts with Tatum during “The Truth Lounge”. “I [saw] in his workouts what he was lifting, and his consistency in his work that he knows he left something on the table last year. You can see it this year – he’s playing with a lot more – going into your body, and-ones, getting to the rim. He’s playing with a little bit more aggression right now.”
After averaging 30.1 points per game in 2022-23, Tatum’s scoring totals have slightly dipped this season at 27.1 points per game. Granted, some of that is a direct result of Boston’s offseason additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
For Pierce, Tatum’s willingness to sacrifice some of his individual accolades and achievements stands as the most encouraging improvement in his overall game.
“It ain’t nothing about his game. His game is gonna be his game,” Pierce said of Tatum. “It’s your mental, and once I changed my mental, I took this next step in my game.
“He might have like 18 points because it’s Porzingis night, because it’s J-Brown night. He ain’t worried about [it]. It looked like last year, he was going to get 30 no matter what. Now, it looks like, ‘OK, it’s their night, so I’m gonna sacrifice a little more.’ That’s what it’s looking like, and for you to win a championship, that’s what you gotta do.
“It’s a sacrifice you gotta make to win it, and I’m seeing it in him. Not only him, in all of them.”
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