Jayson Tatum got a couple of DNP-CDs at the Paris Olympics this summer, and this didn't sit well with some members of the Boston Celtics. "I personally was not happy about it," center Al Horford told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, referring to both Tatum's role on Team USA and Jaylen Brown not being on the team. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, however, had a different reaction.
"I talked to Joe a lot," Tatum told reporters at Celtics media day on Tuesday. "Joe was probably the happiest person in the world that I didn't win Finals MVP and that I didn't play in two of the games in the Olympics. So that was odd. But if you know Joe, it makes sense."
If you have listened to Mazzulla talk, it does indeed make sense. Earlier this month, in an appearance on the Locked on Celtics podcast, he said he didn't like the phrase "defending a title" because it's a "very passive-aggressive term."
"If you look at the animal kingdom, some of the strongest animals don't defend; they're the most aggressive, and they attack the most," he said. "Whether you've won or haven't won, your mindset can't change."
Mazzulla surely would have been happy for Tatum had he won Finals MVP or been the star of the show for Team USA, but he also believes that success can be dangerous.
On Tuesday, Mazzulla, whose press conference preceded Tatum's, didn't directly talk about Tatum's experience with Team USA or Brown winning Finals MVP, but the coach told reporters that winning a championship "tests your internal motivation" and that "one of the challenges of this offseason was detaching from the past." He repeatedly stressed that the team needs to have a "balanced approach to success and failure."
Asked if not playing in two of Team USA's games was a source of motivation, Tatum initially said, "I guess you could say that, if you want to simplify it. In real time, it was tough." Then he said that he didn't need any extra motivation coming into the season and described it as a "unique circumstance."
"I'm a believer that everything happens for a reason," Tatum told reporters. "I was coming off a championship, the highest of the highs. Cover of 2K and new contract, and then that happened. And whatever the reason is, I haven't figured it out yet, but I am a believer that everything does happen for a reason. But it was a good experience. We won a gold medal, I won my second one. I was around some of the best players to ever play the game on a daily basis and built some friendships and was able to bing my family out there and enjoy the Olympics as a whole, so that was a plus for me for sure."
As for Mazzulla's summer? "I wouldn't say I enjoyed the offseason," the coach said. "I enjoyed the parade. I thought the parade was a rather intense experience, which I loved, and it was a great opportunity to connect with the city."
Mazzulla said that he spent his time "studying what goes into winning and what goes into losing." Asked how different it felt to be sitting at the podium at media day this year versus last year, the coach of the reigning champs said, "Quite honestly, zero. I feel zero difference. And I think if you're ever lucky to do it again, when it does feel different that's when I'd rather not do it anymore."
