Jayson Tatum's offseason tour of disrespect can be traced back to last season's NBA playoffs. Despite leading the Boston Celtics in points, rebounds and assists throughout the Finals, the 26-year-old wasn't named MVP for one glaring reason: shooting issues.

Tatum shot 42.7% from the field against the Dallas Mavericks, but didn't make 3-pointers at all (28.3%). Even as Tatum made it through the finale after the two-mile duck boat parade in Boston, soaking himself in celebratory champagne and brushing confetti off his shoulder, worries still haunted the five-time All-Star.

When Tatum traveled to Paris for the 2024 Olympics with USA Basketball, his issues around head coach Steve Kerr came under intense scrutiny. Tatum shot 38.1% from the floor in 17.7 minutes and scored two DNPs, but after being presented with his championship ring and watching Banner 18 reach the rafters, things quickly took a turn for the better – and did drained New York.

“The shot felt good,” Tatum said after Boston’s 132-109 win. “I had a good rhythm and things like that, and I think offensively we just picked up where we left off last year. We brought almost everyone back. We play to our strengths. We know what we want to do. We know who we want to attack. We know which sets and actions we need to get into and are constantly working on it. In practice, we work on reads every day, and that's basically all we do. Yes, we have plays and stuff, but we only do readings.”

Boston relieved at a level that put the Celtics on a level of their own early in the season. Through screens and constant ball movement in search of the Right After the first shot, Tatum delivered a handful of quality performances as he scored a game-high 37 points on a blistering 14-of-18 shot from the field. Tatum knocked down eight of Boston's record-tying 29 three-pointers – tied with the Milwaukee Bucks (2020) – and did it all in three quarters when Mazzulla ripped him off the floor early in the fourth frame.

Warding off the verbal blows that followed Tatum from the USA to Paris significantly extended the off-season. Tatum previously noted that, in his opinion, the disrespectful discourse made Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla the “happiest person in the world,” something Mazulla himself acknowledged during training camp.

“I expect him to just stay here and just keep working on his game and keep improving,” Mazzulla said after the game. “I'm obviously proud of the way he shot the ball, but above all of how he dominated the game in all areas, choosing his spots very well and taking the shots he wanted. But the guy just works hard every day, doesn't let things get in the way of what's most important to him, and that showed tonight. I expect him to have a great season.”

When you look back at rookie Tatum, you will undoubtedly see a noticeable difference. Tatum doesn't rely on the sidestep 3-point shot nearly as often or create space with fancy ISO basketball – which led to a handful of hard-fought looks. The shootings, which saw Tatum normalize a more conservative approach, have had their ups and downs in recent years as he has evolved.

Tatum shot 40.1% (on 4.5 attempts) from three to his first three years in the league. That efficiency has dropped to 36.4% from three in the last four seasons (on 8.4 attempts), although it hasn't solidified Tatum's ability to consistently be Boston's leading scorer.

“I saw a lot of film. “I've been working with my coach Drew (Hanlen) a lot over the last few weeks,” Tatum said at media day at the Auerbach Center last month. “A few mechanical things – scoring points, hand positioning, going deeper, keeping my shoulders forward and things like that.” There are a few things I could have fixed, but especially in the middle of the playoffs and trying to get my rest times and It's a bit difficult to deal with something similar. I still played well, I just didn't shoot the ball as well as I would have liked. Obviously we were on the rise, so it was neither the time nor the place to try to fix things at that moment.”

Tatum was never the most sociable player on the floor, but his double-double of 37 points and 10 assists spoke for itself – loudly.