Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum is holding the inaugural Jayson Tatum Elite Camp this week, which is a part of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball program. The event is taking place in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, and some of the biggest names in the upcoming recruiting classes have been present.
Jayson Tatum Has Strong Message For Players At Youth Camp
JT brought some help to St. Louis to give buckets to the campers… @jaytatum0 @jumpman23 pic.twitter.com/YUGNLojfeE
— EliteYouthBasketball (@NikeEYB) July 22, 2023
Airious Bailey, the Rutgers commit who is the #2 ranked player in the class of 2024 was listed on the roster of attendees. Cooper Flagg was on the list too, and he holds the #2 ranking for the class of 2025. Tre Johnson (#3, 2024) and VJ Edgecombe (#7, 2024) were there too.
The prospects came to the camp to further showcase their skills in front of college and NBA scouts, as well as take advice and direction from some of the top players that the NBA has to offer. In addition to Tatum, Chris Paul, Bradley Beal, and Paolo Banchero were also there to lend a hand to the youngsters.
Load Management Is Not A Thing For Tatum
As real as it gets. @jaytatum0 @jumpman23 pic.twitter.com/Q7o3CxaH9j
— EliteYouthBasketball (@NikeEYB) July 25, 2023
And while the prospects honed their games by going up against some of the best players in the world, the best advice might have come off of the court when Jayson Tatum spoke about playing your hardest at all times and never relaxing.
I don’t decide ‘S–t, we playing the Hornets tonight, I’mma chill.’ I only get to go to Charlotte two times a year. Somebody payed their money to come watch me play. Not trying to be arrogant, like, there’s a bunch of kids in there with my shoes and my jersey on.
Tatum related his scenario with that of the upcoming players who are doing their best to show out to the scouts. He said that they are always watching, and that you can never take a night or a game or a play off when you are trying to make your mark.
They still watching. They still evaluating, They didn’t come to see us play. They know what we can do. Ya’ll are the future. Ya’ll next. So just keep that in mind. Ranked player, not. Big game, not big game. Compete. Play basketball. Don’t take that s–t for granted.
While he never directly mentions load management, it is clear that Jayson Tatum is not a fan of the idea. Tatum has missed a total of just 33 games over his 6-year career out of a possible 472.