"Going through his Kobe arc": Celtics fans hyped over Jayson Tatum's 6 a.m. gym grind

Between winning a championship and then not playing much in the Olympics, Jayson Tatum had a bit of a polarizing summer. Following some recent comments regarding his work ethic, fans are excited to see what's next for the star forward.

On Tuesday, the Boston Celtics held their media day before starting training camp. During his availability, Al Horford touched on the work Tatum has been putting in as of late. Coming off a lackluster showing in the Olympics, the Celtics star has been allegedly getting up at 6 a.m. to work on his craft.

Horford's remark about Jayson Tatum made Celtics happy. Some even compared him LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

Other fans jokingly thanked Steve Kerr for giving Tatum extra motivation heading into the 2025 season.

"Steve Kerr did good, Nike did good with Brown , they about to be Back 2 Back Champions," one fan said.

"I am thankful for Kerr doing what he did," another fan said.

"Tatum is coming for blood this season!" a fan said.

Tatum's struggles in the Olympics were apparent, shooting 38.1% from the field and 0% from beyond the arc. Because he struggled to get his jumper going, Kerr had no choice but to call on other players. This resulted in Tatum playing just 71 minutes across six games and not featuring in two matchups at all.

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Jayson Tatum doesn't believe he's reached his full potential yet

Over the past five years, Jayson Tatum has emerged as one of the NBA's top forwards. Fresh off winning a championship, the Boston Celtics star made a bold claim regarding his potential.

During an interview on media day, Tatum reflected on where his game is at skill-wise. He then said that he hasn't become the best version of himself yet.

"I just always feel like overall I can still get better," Tatum said. "You haven't seen like the best version of Jayson Tatum."

At 26 years old, Tatum is just getting ready to enter his prime years in the league. Seeing that he is still relatively young, it's not far-fetched to think he can still improve.

Due to the Celtics bringing in All-Stars such as Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, Tatum's offensive production took a slight dip in the last season. While his points per game decreased from 30.1 points per game to 26.9 PPG, he did improve in another area. The five-time All-Star averaged a career-high 4.9 assists.

In terms of Tatum's game, playmaking is an area he can still grow. He's shown he can score the ball at a very high level, but becoming a better passer would make him a bigger threat for opposing defenses.