The Boston Celtics were the NBA’s hottest team for the first two months of the season before coming back to earth a bit once the calendar flipped to 2018. At present, Boston is 42-19, good for second in the East just a half game behind Toronto and fourth overall in the NBA.
When Gordon Hayward went down five minutes into the opener, most wrote off the Celtics as being a true contender in the East, but All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Al Horford have led the way and their young wings in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have stepped up in a major way to fill the hole left by Hayward.
Tatum, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, has been a very pleasant surprise for Boston in that he’s a rarity among rookie shooters in that he’s come in and seemingly had no issues transitioning to the NBA three-point line. Tatum is averaging 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game with a 47.5/42.9/82.9 shooting split. While he’s no longer leading the league in three-point shooting, his 42.9 percentage from deep is more than good, especially considering his rookie status.
After competing in the Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars game over All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, Tatum sat down with Dime courtesy of Tissot at the NBA Crossover installation. We talked about his early success, All-Star experience, how he’s seen teams change in their approach to facing the Celtics, vets he’s learned from and how his style and fashion sense has changed since entering the league.
How’s the first All-Star Weekend experience been for you?
It’s been great. I’m very fortunate to be here, enjoying all the festivities and you know just being around all the best players in the NBA now and all the legends of the past.
Everyone says this is the halfway point, but really it’s the two-thirds point. How would you assess your season so far and your transition into the league?
It’s all going by really, really fast. We play so many games so often. We travel a lot. We’ve been doing well. First or second in the East, we’ve slipped up a little bit lately so I’m glad we got this break to get away from it for a little bit and get back to the team we know we can be.
Have you noticed teams defending you differently or putting more emphasis on covering you after your hot start?
I’ve noticed that teams in general have just come out with more of an edge against us. After you win 17 games in a row and get out to first in the East, now we’ve got a target on our back and people are coming at us.
Who are the veterans on the team you’ve found to be especially helpful in your process of transitioning into the league that you’ve learned a lot from on and off the floor?
Two guys would probably be Kyrie and Marcus Morris. Those would be two guys that I probably talk to the most that help me out the most on and off the court.
Off the court, how has your style and fashion sense changed over the years from college into the pros?
Drastically different. College we have to wear like Duke jumpsuits to the game, so you couldn’t really dress up. Now when you get into the NBA, you have that freedom to express yourself. Like, I’m big into watches. You know, I got my Tissot watch and especially when you can show it on the runway. It’s like a red carpet when you walk into games, taking all the pictures.
Who are guys around the league whose style and fashion you like?
There’s a lot of guys. In our locker room, Kyrie, Marcus Morris, Terry, Jaylen. Even guys like Westbrook — I would never wear that, but it definitely works for him.
Are you a good cook?
Nah, my mom lives near me so she cooks for me every night.
If you had to make something what would you make?
Tacos. That’s my go to.
