Jayson Tatum shrugs off being the "most scrutinized" player in NBA

BOSTON -- Not much rattles Jayson Tatum these days. He's focused squarely on the Celtics' upcoming matchup with the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, and blocking out anything that could get in his way of bringing a title home for Boston.

But as the idle Celtics and talking heads waited for the NBA Finals to tip off the last week-plus, the noise about the Celtics superstar grew louder and louder. It grew to comical levels at times, and Tatum simply shrugged it all off as he prepared for the NBA Finals for the second time in his career.

"He's not a superstar," some said. "His shot is terrible," other said. Some even questioned his relationship with Jaylen Brown because Tatum wasn't smiling enough when his teammate was named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. It got that silly.

No player is as heavily scrutinized as Jayson Tatum. 

"You think so?" Tatum joked when The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn asked him about holding the title of "Most Scrutinized Player" during Wednesday's NBA Finals media day at TD Garden.

As ridiculous as many of the claims are, Tatum doesn't let them bother him. 

"I think more so than me, it's my mom, my grandma, family and friends. They're more bothered by it than me," he said. "I understand if Deuce was to make it to the NBA and people were talking about him every day, I wouldn't be able to separate the superstar from the child. My mom took it tougher than I did. I don't take it personally. It was a long break without NBA basketball so they had to overanalyze every little thing."

The act has certainly gotten a bit old for Tatum's family and friends though. But he says it's fine. Again, his focus is elsewhere.

"It's the Finals. They wouldn't talk about me if I wasn't good," he said. "So I try to take some positives out of it and change the channel."

While his three-point shot has been off, with Tatum hitting just 29 percent from downtown, he's been better than "good" this postseason. He's leading the charge for Boston at 26 points per game to go with 10.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists. He's also playing excellent defense, which will need to continue against Dallas' formidable offense in the Finals.

Tatum has made the last three All-NBA First Teams, but many of his doubters are fixated on the fact that he doesn't own any MVP hardware or a championship ring. He can check off one of those with four more victories this postseason.

And that is all that Tatum is focused on. A championship would help his legacy in Boston and the NBA, but Tatum isn't thinking about how he'll be remembered some day. He just wants to win a title.

"I don't think about the future or what this may mean for me down the road. As simple as it sounds, I'm trying to stay present and in the moment, enjoy it," he said. "We keep talking about pressure, pressure, pressure. This is the NBA Finals, it's supposed to be fun, and that's where I'm at. I have a second chance to win an NBA championship and I want to enjoy it with my teammates and my family. That's where my narrow focus is at and about.

"I'm not thinking about what it would mean for my legacy. I'm just excited to play some basketball after this long break, and go out there and try to get the job done," he added.