While there are doubts about Jayson Tatum becoming the next face of the NBA, he is undeniably the face of the Celtics franchise. In his eight-year tenure, he has already led them to five Conference Finals and an NBA championship. Even this season, JT has kept the Cs at the second seed all year and will likely finish in that position. With Tatum’s leadership on full display, Joe Mazzulla constantly pushes him with new challenges.

During tonight’s Celtics vs Grizzlies broadcast, media veteran Taylor Rooks revealed the details of Tatum and Mazzulla’s private conversation. “Before every game, Joe Mazzulla says to Jayson Tatum ‘It’s a new puzzle today. You gotta figure it out.’ And Jayson says those conversations push him to play the right way always stressing what the game calls for.” She remarked.

Mazzulla further asked him, “How do you impact winning? How do you impact your teammates? What can you do during practice? What can you do during the game to uplift and empower the group?” Sure enough, Jayson had the perfect response, “He said he doesn’t wanna be defined just by scoring.” Well, Tatum has been a lethal scorer this season, averaging 27.1 points. But his impact on the team has been lot more than just his stats.

Last summer, veteran big Al Horford deemed Tatum “the most important player” for the Celtics. “When you know that you have your best player available all the time, No. 1, I feel like it raises the level for all of us to be like, ‘Oh, we better make sure that we’re available, and that we’re good to go.’”

Horford remarked. So, it’s clear that JT’s mere presence boosts the team’s morale and motivates them to do better. Rooks also revealed that Tatum’s relationship with Mazzulla and approach of being more than a scorer have helped his mindset, “Jayson told me he no longer plays stressed.” It was evident from how he handled his recent injury.

Jayson Tatum reveals ‘boredom’ during injury recovery as he makes concerning locker room confession

Well, Tatum suffered a major injury scare last week when he sprained his ankle after landing on Domantas Sabonis’ foot during the Kings clash. The blow looked extremely scary as JT immediately fell to the floor favoring his ankle in immense agony.

However, he followed in his idol Kobe Bryant’s footsteps and hit the resulting free throws before leaving the game. While Celtic Nation feared major setback, Tatum returned to the lineup after missing just one game.

Upon his return, he revealed how he felt during the brief recovery period, “Been bored. But I’m glad that it recovered and healed in a good way. I was able to come back out here and rejoin with the team.” With a chance to win back-to-back titles, Tatum could not wait to come back and help his team win. Moreover, the injury did not bother him one bit as he scored 29 points in his return and led his team to victory.

Even tonight, he dropped a 25-point double-double and extended the Celtics’ winning streak to nine games. However, he did make one concerning confession highlighting the team’s recent injury woes, “Nobody in this locker room feels a 100%. You know it’s part of what we do, everybody’s dealing with something.”

Just like Tatum, other stars, including Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis are playing through health issues. But the good news is—Tatum is not stressed as Rooks revealed and is solely focused on helping his team win another championship. Sign of a true leader.