Legacies, by definition, need time to be determined.
That's not something today’s world accepts. From social media to debate shows and everything in between (oh, like maybe a daily podcast), a player is defined and redefined on a nearly daily basis. It’s like a doctor revising someone’s life expectancy after each blip on an EKG.
Imagine if Beethoven was judged after every five minutes of music, or if Rembrandt was critiqued every 10 brush strokes. The ability to debate, reconsider, and relitigate creates an unfair environment for pro athletes.
Jayson Tatum is one of the most debated players in the NBA, and that hasn’t changed since he helped lead the Celtics to a championship. His celebratory and defiant “what are they gonna say now?” was met as a sort of challenge by some talking heads, and it hasn’t been entirely kind.
Part of that is because Jaylen Brown was named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals. Part of it is Tatum relegated to bit player during the Olympics. And all of it has added up to a general “how good is he really?” vibe.
It’s understandable to a certain degree. Tatum isn’t magical like some other players. Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic are capable of the absurd and Tatum isn’t. He’s not a game manipulator in the same sense they are.
But what he does have is a level of discipline and work ethic they don’t. Tatum does everything well. Those other guys are like Jimi Hendrix, who never took a formal guitar lesson but figured out how to shred on his own. Tatum is Guthrie Govan, who started learning at three because his father put a guitar in his hand and began teaching him.
Yes, Hendrix was cooler, but Govan is as good as almost anyone to wield an axe.
Maybe you think I’m wrong. That's your opinion. And opinions are at the heart of every legacy discussion. A few different ones here or there and how someone is perceived is entirely different.
For example, if only four people had different opinions of Tatum between May and August, the framing of this discussion would be completely different. The Hoop Collective podcast wouldn’t have put Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards ahead of Tatum when deciding which stars they’d prefer to start with when building a potential champion.
Think about this for a second. Edwards, SGA, and Doncic were all determined to have a better chance at leading a team to a championship than Tatum … the summer after Tatum won a championship. They chose two guys who didn’t make it and a guy Tatum beat before getting to him and they had no qualms about it whatsoever.
But would it have been that way if four people made different decisions?
Brown won the ECF MVP five votes to four. If one person decided to go with Tatum instead, he would have won. Brown won Finals MVP seven votes to three. If two people voted Tatum, they would have been co-MVPs. And if Steve Kerr decided to play Tatum regular minutes instead of benching him twice, there wouldn’t have been weeks of debate over his participation.
I’m not saying anything about Tatum’s production. All of his numbers stay the same in this scenario, including his averages in Paris. Everything he did is everything he did, but if what he did was judged differently by just four people, what would the discussion be today?
Tatum, a champion with two playoff MVP awards and even an unremarkable contribution to Team USA, would undoubtedly be seen differently.
There's no doubt that some of these players are incredible, heliocentric engines who raise the level of those around them. They are singular forces of nature which makes them incredibly valuable players. Tatum isn’t, and doesn’t need to be, anything like that for Boston to win. That doesn’t help his case.
What Tatum did this past season shouldn’t be minimized, though. His step back and willingness to give up part of the spotlight is what helped his team flourish. He bought into the concept right away, sacrificed opportunities to make himself look better, and the Celtics were better for it.
To put it in everyday terms, he delegated responsibilities. Good leaders know how to do that.
Legacies aren’t defined in the moment, so a summer of blather won’t change how Tatum is ultimately perceived. He has a chance to win another title and make this summer’s discussion look silly. He can’t control what people say, even if a select few opinions are what’s driving the discussion.
What he can control is how he plays and how he helps his teammates. And maybe somewhere along the way there will be a deeper appreciation for how he makes his team better.
Joe Mazzulla loves to say success looks different on different days. Just because Tatum isn’t asked to be the singular driver of a team’s success doesn’t mean he’s not one of the main engines rocketing them to the top of the NBA.