“He’s Already on Top of the Food Chain”: Training Jayson Tatum, Paul Pierce Enlightens Kevin Garnett on Taking the Celtics Forward Under His Wing

Jayson Tatum has been pivotal in leading the Boston Celtics to deep postseason runs in the past few seasons. However, the elite forward is still missing the desired silverware of an NBA Championship in his trophy cabinet. Therefore, Tatum has been going extra hard in the gym this offseason to get over the hump in the upcoming season. Additionally, he has enlisted the help of Celtics legend Paul Pierce to strengthen his game. After training the 25-year-old recently, The Truth has nothing but high praise for him, as he revealed on the KG Certified podcast.

The last two seasons have been bittersweet for Tatum. Despite leading the Celtics to what many would consider a respectable playoff run, it surely isn’t enough to satisfy a player of JT’s caliber. After a lackluster 2022 NBA Finals, the Celtics were knocked out of the Eastern Conference Finals last season by the Miami Heat in a close game 7 contest. Despite averaging around 26 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in the last two seasons, the four-time All-Star is keen on getting better. Now, he looks to his predecessors to help him improve.

Paul Pierce is in awe of Jayson Tatum, having recently taken the Celtics star under his wing

Recently, Paul Pierce sat down with Kevin Garnett and Tony Allen on the KG Certified podcast. During the sit-down, he spoke highly of Jayson Tatum. The Boston Celtics star has been working with The Truth this off-season in preparation for 2023-2024. When asked to give his insights on the 25-year-old, Pierce had nothing but praises.

The 2008 NBA Finals MVP elaborated on how this is more training for him than it is for JT. Explaining that he is just there for support, Pierce revealed that he is in awe of Tatum’s growth despite already being at “the top of the food chain”. In other words, the 45-year-old expects great things from Tatum and is looking forward to seeing his performance with the Celtics this season.

According to Pierce:

“It’s an honor [to train Tatum]. He’s one of the top 5 players in the league…I’m there really just on some support, and just to see his growth. I mean he’s already at the top of the food chain. So, I’m just part of being a support system. That’s it.”

Tatum has been training more than ever for the upcoming season and seems to be ready for it. He is intent on making up for his last few failures and will be looking to lift his first NBA Championship come next year.

It’s great to see that Tatum has the backing of a legend like Pierce, but Tony Allen has more input. Allen is a huge fan of Tatum but believes if there is one thing he still needs to develop, it’s his mentality. ‘The Grindfather’ believes that the Celtics forward is still lacking that “seek and destroy mentality”. Something that his new mentor Paul Pierce had.

That being said, the Celtics organization is in a rut. They’ve made a few roster changes this summer as they look to make one last push with the duo of JT and Jaylen Brown together. Hopefully, things work out.

Colin Cowherd harshly resonated with Tony Allen’s words about Tatum

Tony Allen isn’t the only one who believes Jayson Tatum needs to work on his mentality. Months earlier, Colin Cowherd raised concerns about the same. Questioning JT’s “killer instinct”, he wondered if the Celtics star is more Andrew Wiggins than Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan.

Harsh criticism from Cowherd, but fair at the end of the day. After all, he is not the only one questioning Tatum.