If careers from one generation to another are difficult to compare, Dwyane Wade probably sees a bit of Jayson Tatum in him. A player who arrived in the NBA with a lot of expectations on his shoulders, and who quickly became the “face” of his franchise.
Unlike D-Wade, who was crowned NBA champion at 24, Jayson Tatum has still not reached the Grail and his NBA career comes down to three losses in the conference finals and one in the NBA finals only 25 years. But that’s not how we recognize the value of a player, according to the person concerned.
Dwyane Wade had the chance to win a title early on
“Really not, because I was lucky on this one”, he reminded. “Lucky to have had the team that I had. I will not discredit my teammates. I had Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O’Neal. I had Antoine Walker, James Posey and Jason Williams. So I had a great team (…) But that’s my background. Of course, I feel proud to have succeeded at 24 years old. But that doesn’t make me a better player than the one who does it at 29.30, 31. It doesn’t matter.”
Minority shareholder of Utah Jazz, but also TV consultant, Dwyane Wade looks at the NBA with another point of view, and he appreciates following the young generation of which Jayson Tatum is a part. Listening to him talk about the Celtics superstar, D-Wade has a crush on JT. While some are beginning to point the finger at Tatum’s lack of leadership, his eldest, on the contrary, sees as many opportunities to progress in order to get there.
“He was often very close to achieving it. And a lot of people like to talk about it like it’s a bad thing. No, on the contrary, give me as many opportunities as possible to get there! Anyway, I hope so for him. He’s one of my favorite players in the NBA, he’s one of my favorite people to communicate with, talk to, and do I don’t know what… I wish him everything he wants in this sport. But you also have to be patient.”
“Right now, he’s going through a tough time”
Falling to get back up is the story of so many NBA champions who have ended up getting their ring, and it’s the path D-Wade wants to see Jayson Tatum take. Even if it’s not the easiest, especially after coming so close to the goal as has been the case for the past two seasons.
“The next step is to come back next year and start all over again. You have to keep your head up, keep taking the hits, keep learning from them. I think it’s a challenge. We have challenges in life. Right now he is going through a tough time. He has had a lot of success in this sport, but he has not had the ultimate success he desires. He wants to play to win this title. He really wants to win it. So his biggest hurdle for next year will be to rise to the occasion, get back to work, get back into the fight, and get back to it day by day. Do your best, and you know what? If you have a new opportunity, I hope the results will be different for you this time”, he added, then including Jaylen Brown in that process. “And once you get the title, you’ll know you’ve worked hard to get it. You know you will have earned it, that you have sacrificed yourself to obtain it. It is part of their history and their journey. I hope that one day I will see these two young men lifting this trophy, because they are two of my favorite players”.
