BOSTON — Jayson Tatum spent part of his Media Day press conference on Monday recounting how much he learned from Paul George on his basketball journey. He saw George thriving with a similar build, so he pulled from George’s style and emulated his mannerisms. As he looked back on those childhood memories, he looked up and saw George (wearing the No. 13 he acquired in a trade from Ron Harper Jr.) awaiting his own interview. They embraced as George approached the podium.
“As you get older in this league, it’s a weird cycle where you come in as a young guy and you throw on this shield to go against your idols,” George said. “You carry this ultra-competitive spirit, and then when you get older and you become the veteran and the older guy, I feel more and more guys have appreciated what I’ve done in my game, that have taken a liking to my game, the more I’ve leaned into that, helping them become better versions of what I am. That’s been the case with JT, Brandon Miller … whatever I can do to help them.”
George enters his 17th NBA season focused on helping Tatum, while at times pulling from his newfound health to produce at the level he had prior to the string of injuries he dealt with in recent years. The Celtics also know he and free agent addition Mike Conley Jr. will prove invaluable as mentors for the team’s ascending talent. While many of them grew up, George battled with LeBron James in back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals with the Pacers, triumphantly returned from a gruesome broken leg and sported one of basketball’s signature shoes.
Alongside Kevin Durant, James and Kobe Bryant, George represented the superstar Tatum aspired to becoming. And he wasn’t the only one. When the Celtics acquired George in July, Jordan Walsh immediately attempted to contact George and work out. They did so several times, and Walsh already learned several moves and tips from the veteran that he plans to utilize this season while attempting to become more of a threat offensively.
“We all, us younger guys, grew up watching these guys play,” Walsh said. “It was funny, the other day I was talking about how LeBron got drafted the year I was born, and I got to play against him, which was crazy. So having moments like that where it’s like, somebody you watched growing up, who was a legend in the game and now you gotta change your lens and look at them as an opponent. It’s a special thing. It’s a gift, but it’s also something that comes with a little more respect and humility to go out there and compete against them.”
Walsh said Brown also took time to mentor younger players and given his age, Tatum and Brown served as inspirations for him as much as the oldest remaining players in the league. Tatum bridged that gap by inviting players, including Walsh, to work out in Los Angeles during the summer and begin the process of getting to know each other’s games. They golfed, went out to dinner and held workouts with many of the Celtics’ players, who joined the workouts when they could. Those continued late in the summer into September in Auerbach Center.
Payton Pritchard gravitated toward Conley, who chose Boston out of a desire to play for one of the league’s most historic franchises before his career ends. They bonded over their love for golf, with Conley beating Pritchard 2-1 during their LA matchups, and talked about ways Pritchard could learn from the veteran entering his 20th year. Conley, older than his head coach Mazzulla, believes he still has more left to contribute on the floor, and stressed that the Celtics can follow he and George’s urgency to win their first championship late in their career. Ultimately, his greatest contributions could come off the court. Pritchard plans to pick his brain constantly.
“It’s just about giving them more and more to their plate every day I can,” Conley said earlier this month. “If there’s something I see, I’m not quiet about it. I’m just gonna say, hey, do this next time or look at this option, how many options do you got out of that? Me and Payton work a lot one-on-one with our workouts before practice or before five-on-five we play on a hoop or whatever. We’re talking the game all the time, ‘I shoot a floater, you should shoot a mid-range shot,’ … I’m excited to get my hands on different opportunities and give my brain to as many of those guys that are willing to listen and willing to learn from any input I have.”
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