Jayson Tatum is Luke Skywalker to Gregg Popovich’s Yoda.
Two years ago, a young Tatum crash landed into Pop’s spot, full of promise but unsure of himself.
“He was just finding his legs, so to speak. Not totally confident,” Popovich said as the Team USA training camp kicked off this week ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. “Not realizing maybe how good he could really be at both ends of the floor, probably a concentration on offense, like most NBA players when they come in.”
Young, brash, and focused on the wrong things is a very Skywalker place to be for a 21-year-old budding superstar. But brashness often masks some level of self-doubt. NBA players are some of the most supremely confident people around, but even they can struggle to find their place in the league at a young age.
Popovich, more than anything, removed that doubt.
“Just being around Pop ... how he was coaching me and what he expected of me, and the confidence that he had, and knowing that all the great players that he's been around,” Tatum began when asked about his two-year transformation since the World Cup. “After just leaving that camp and knowing that one of the best coaches ever thinks highly of me, I kind of came into my third season just feeling really confident about that, regardless of my age that I was one of the best players, and I just had to go out there and prove it on a nightly basis.”
Tatum proved in on April 30 when he led a wild comeback over Popovich’s Spurs, scoring 60 to snatch a win after falling behind by 32.
Now Tatum is back with Pop two years later, and much like Skywalker meeting Yoda the second time around, there isn’t much more as far as training left for Tatum.
“He's way more confident. He's developed more skills,” Popovich said. “He’s on top of that more aggressive and knows that he can dominate people. So he's much different coming into this situation than before.”
TATUM EXCITED FOR IME UDOKA
Tatum and new head coach Ime Udoka have already known each other since that last USA Basketball stint at the FIBA World Cup, and they’ve already been working together some this week in Las Vegas.
“I got to know him a little bit,” Tatum said after the team’s Wednesday practice in Las Vegas. “I think what stands out the most is, I guess when you're coming up as an assistant, when you get your first head coach job, you're driven and motivated. From the conversations I've had with him since he's got the job, I can just tell he's really, really excited. It's going to be fun and we're going to try to accomplish something big."
Of course, the lack of accomplishing the biggest things is part of what led to a shakeup in Boston. In short order, Tatum’s coach moved upstairs, a new coach was hired, and Kemba Walker was traded.
“It was a lot at first with all the changes, especially with the coaches and front office, but change is good sometimes,” Tatum said. “Obviously, Kemba, that’s my man. You hate to see one of your close guys go but I wish nothing but the best for him wherever he goes. I’m happy to have Al (Horford) back. He looked better in green anyway.”
TATUM AND BEAL, FOR REAL
Tatum and Bradley Beal have a well publicized friendship that crosses into brotherhood. They grew up in the same St. Louis neighborhood, and developed their bond at a very young age.
“That was the mentor and older brother that I didn't technically have in the house,” Tatum said. “Someone that was just -- accomplished everything that I was trying to do. And I've seen how to do it firsthand and what it took.”
Beal is five years older than Tatum, so he blazed the trail that Tatum followed, but aside from a few fun minutes in the All-Star game, they’ve never actually played competitive basketball together.
"To have two of the same guys from the same high school, I don't know if that's ever happened for USA Basketball. We're excited about it,” Beal said. “Even from growing up, we've never been on the same team, ever. In pickup, we're never on the same team. This is definitely exciting for both of us.”
Of course, Celtics fans see this as Tatum’s opportunity to make his pitch to Beal to play in Boston. With Udoka on the staff and Tatum as a teammate, Beal will get at least a hint of a sales pitch. He knows how it goes in these situations. He knows there will be talk about teaming up between guys on the team.
“I don’t know. Probably a lot. I don’t know,” Beal said of how often he expects those conversations to happen. “Depends on who is a free agent or not but for the most part, we can’t mix that in right now. We are focused on one goal at hand and that’s bringing back the gold medal.”
Besides, Tatum doesn’t need to go to Tokyo to get in Beal’s ear. Sure, it’ll help for Beal to see it in practical application, but these guys are already too close not to be talking about this kind of stuff already.
“I'm definitely happy about his growth and excited to see him on the global stage as well as myself and everybody,” Beal said. “We have a really good team but Jayson and I have a special relationship and I'm looking forward to it. It will be exciting.”
Tatum added that Beal is “someone that I've always looked up to and still look up to to this day. We just want the extreme best for each other and, just two guys who play at a very high level that are always pushing each other. You know, he scores 50 or something, I’m trying to do it. Or vice versa. That’s just kind of the relationship that we have.”