Jayson Tatum reveals why Celtics HC approved of Finals MVP loss, limited Olympic play

“In real-time [the Olympics benchings were] tough,” he said. “But I talked to Joe a lot. Joe was probably the happiest person in the world that I didn’t win Finals MVP and I didn’t play in two of the games at the Olympics. That was odd. But if you know Joe, it makes sense.”

Tatum further noted that while Mazzulla felt perhaps his superstar could use the Finals MVP and Olympics situations as motivation coming into 2024-25, he didn't need any extra boost.

“Did I need any extra motivation coming into the season? No, I’m not going to give anybody in particular credit that they’re motivating me to come into the season,” he said. “[The Olympics] was a unique circumstance. Something I haven’t experienced before in my playing career, but I’m a believer that everything happens for a reason. I was coming off a championship, the highest of the highs and the cover of 2K and a new contract and that happened. And whatever the reason is, I haven’t figured out yet but I am a believer that everything happens for a reason.”

Tatum led the Celtics in nearly every notable statistical category during the 2024 NBA Finals, including minutes (40.2), points (22.2), rebounds (7.8) and assists (7.2) per game but struggled from the field (38.8 percent) and on three-pointers (26.3). Brown was second to Tatum in minutes (38.6), points (20.8) and assists (5.0) while leading the group in steals per contest (1.6). He had a better field goal percentage than his teammate (44.0) but shot slightly worse from downtown (23.5).