NBA skills coach Drew Hanlen, who also works with the likes of Joel Embiid and Zach Lavine, has revealed the precise moment he knew that Jayson Tatum would become a ‘special’ player.
Tatum was an extremely talented young player, tipped to become an NBA superstar long before he entered the league.
But there have been plenty of highly-rated high school and college players who have not fulfilled their potential.
Tatum’s development into one of the best players in the world is a testament to his work ethic.
Hanlen recalls the moment he realised that Tatum’s mentality was different to most other players and would set him up to have success in the NBA.
“The first workout, all I did was basically run him to the ground. 30 minutes of non-stop high-intensity drills,” Hanlen said in the Netflix documentary, ‘Starting 5‘.
“I got a call from [Tatum’s mom] and she said, ‘Jayson said that was the hardest workout he’s ever been through but he said something really cool that I thought you’d be proud of: ‘Momma, they’re going to have to carry me off the court before I give up”.
“And that’s when I knew he really had something [in his head and heart] that was going to allow him to really take his game to a special level.
“He was the number one player in the country and he was still every single morning meeting me at 6 a.m., making 500 shots by the time most of his competitors were waking up.
“He saw how much his much sacrificed for him to give him the best opportunities he could possibly have. The thing that I’ve always loved about Jayson is he put all of his eggs in one basket. There was no plan B.”
Tatum is only 26 years old but he has already achieved so much in the NBA. He won his first title with the Boston Celtics in 2024 to add to his five All-Stars and three All-NBA First Team appearances.
One of the few things missing from his resume is the Most Valuable Player Award. Can he achieve that in the upcoming season?
Well, Tatum should meet one of the most important criteria in terms of winning the MVP. The Celtics are expected to win around 60 games, so he is likely to be the best player on the best team in the NBA.
The only issue is the quality of his supporting cast. Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis are both excellent players and could limit him to scoring around 26 rather than the 30+ it might take to see off the likes of Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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