If he lost two close members in the locker room with the departures of Marcus Smart and Grant Williams, Jayson Tatum must have rejoiced at the arrival of an old acquaintance, Amile Jeffersonin the staff of the Celtics.
Amile Jefferson was thus recruited as Joe Mazzulla’s assistant after a first experience on the Duke bench. Before that, he had worked in the direction of player development at Durham University since 2021. His meteoric career, at only 30 years old, will now go through another prestigious box.
“Duke has been a special place, and I loved being there, but having a chance to work for an organization like this, to learn, to grow and to be able to compete at the highest level was something that felt like be the next step in my journey. I can’t wait to get to work”, did he declare.
Two former teammates turned lifelong friends
Among the reasons for his recruitment, there is in particular the fact that the former interior has the particularity of having been a teammate with Jayson Tatum, also at Duke, seven years ago.
Jayson Tatum was starting his one and only university year, Amile Jefferson his senior season, and it was only natural that he took the new nugget of the team under his wing, and they have remained close ever since.
Seven years later, here are the two friends reunited, and Amile Jefferson will now have to direct Jayson Tatum and use his proximity to him to continue to make him progress.
“I don’t think anything really changes, especially for me. I’m always going to tell her how I feel, whether it’s good, bad or neutral.”added the new assistant.
Because Amile Jefferson hopes to see Jayson Tatum continue to improve, while he nevertheless comes out of an exceptional season, his best in career, with more than 30 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists per game.
“He still has a lot to do. He is only 25 years old. He’s not even in his prime yet. He’s going to be so much stronger, which is crazy considering how good he already is. But I can’t wait to see it continue to grow.”concluded Amile Jefferson.
| Jayson Tatum | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2017-18 | BOS | 80 | 31 | 47.5 | 43.4 | 82.6 | 0.6 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 13.9 |
| 2018-19 | BOS | 79 | 31 | 45.0 | 37.3 | 85.5 | 0.9 | 5.2 | 6.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 15.7 |
| 2019-20 | BOS | 66 | 34 | 45.0 | 40.3 | 81.2 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 23.4 |
| 2020-21 | BOS | 64 | 36 | 45.9 | 38.6 | 86.8 | 0.8 | 6.6 | 7.4 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 26.4 |
| 2021-22 | BOS | 76 | 36 | 45.3 | 35.3 | 85.3 | 1.1 | 6.9 | 8.0 | 4.4 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 26.9 |
| 2022-23 | BOS | 74 | 37 | 46.6 | 35.0 | 85.4 | 1.1 | 7.7 | 8.8 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 30.1 |
| Total | 439 | 34 | 45.8 | 37.5 | 84.7 | 0.9 | 6.1 | 7.0 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 22.5 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
