I was standing by the Celtics bench during warmups before they took on the Minnesota Timberwolves. Fans next to me were screaming to get someone’s attention on the court, yelling “WE LOVE YOU!”
They were talking to Deuce Tatum.
Jayson Tatum has said that his son might be as famous as he is in Boston. And why not? The city has watched him grow from barely walking to Sam Cassell teaching him behind-the-back dribbles. The junior Jayson is getting so big, so fast that he might be ready to defend Payton Pritchard during pregame warmups next season.
He’s famous enough that “Big Deuce” is one of dad’s nicknames. When he went through a practice with the G League Maine Celtics before his return, they gave him a jersey with “Big Deuce” on the back.
So when it came time for SLAM to look for a unique perspective on the elder Tatum’s return from a ruptured Achilles tendon, they turned to Deuce for words we haven’t seen yet. And the eight-year-old delivered some gems in his heartfelt letter.
“When he first got hurt and was on the scooter, I used to make Daddy go outside and watch me play outside,” Deuce wrote. “One time, I was shooting and was like, Well, since you’re hurt, I can beat you now ’cause I can make the layups easy. Daddy was like, Dang, that’s not cool, bro!”
Shout out to Deuce for seizing on an opportunity. The kid does what it takes to win. The Celtics should take note—they haven’t been great at attacking guys in foul trouble this season.
“In his first game back, seeing that he made a three, and that people were cheering for him,” he continued. “That was really exciting. If I could pick a superhero name for him, it’d be #0, Big Daddy Superhero!”
Kids love to rhyme, don’t they? Maybe Basketball Reference can add “Big Daddy Superhero” to the list of nicknames.
The coup de grâce was the painfully honest assessment of his father that only an eight-year-old can deliver.
“After seeing Daddy go through surgery and physical therapy, on a scale from 1 to 100 for how tough he is, I would say he’s a 79,” Deuce wrote. “Because he’s not as strong as, like, bodybuilders and stuff, but he is really, really, really strong.”
Fair enough—and it leaves room for improvement. Just add it to the list of things that will motivate Jayson Sr. as his rehab continues.
The entire piece is a touching way to view Tatum’s comeback, and a powerful reminder that NBA athletes aren’t robots. They are humans with extraordinary skill. That skill earns them money that can set up generations of family, but day-to-day, young Deuce was just watching his dad struggle to walk and do normal things.
Deuce continues to play an important role in keeping his father sane, grounded, and focused on moving forward. When asked who he talks to in an effort to clear some of the remaining mental hurdles, Tatum said, “Medical team, my mom, Deuce, I talk to everybody. Just like I have throughout—since I had surgery, the communication with people that have lent their hand out to as a resource to be helpful. Guys in the league, guys that are retired, it’s a lot of people.”
There’s a fair amount of noise building as Tatum struggles with parts of his return, even though he’s playing much better than expected. His shooting isn’t close to where he wants it to be, and the Celtics have had a couple of tough performances recently (even though one ended up being a win over Memphis).
“There was no expectation other than continuing to get better,” Joe Mazzulla said of Tatum at the team’s Tuesday practice. “Continuing to execute, continuing to grow as a player and be in position to help us win, and be the best version of himself and continue to stay and further get healthy. Those were the expectations, and I think he’s exceeded those, and I think he’s continuing to get better, and that’s the most important thing.”
This is still very much part of Tatum’s rehab, which means it’s very much still a work in progress. As it continues, Tatum can rely on one constant: Deuce will be there at the games to be his number one fan.