To understand how far Jayson Tatum has come as a leader, we must journey back to the Orlando Bubble to juxtapose one play against the Heat versus two he made in Tuesday's opener.
Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix recently reported that Tatum's tone changed this summer after a Finals loss to the Warriors. Whereas past offseasons were about individual goals -- making an All-Star team, winning an MVP -- this time he obsessed over winning.
That attitudinal shift was evident during Tuesday's victory over the Sixers, and it points to the next phase in Tatum's growth from gifted individualist to selfless conductor.
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Twice on Tuesday, Tatum went out of his way to acknowledge teammates. The first came after Jaylen Brown picked Joel Embiid's pocket in the post, leading to a Tatum transition layup. If Tatum considered throwing Brown a lob as a reward for starting the 3-on-1, lone defender James Harden disrupted the spacing, so Tatum swooped around him for two.
As he retreated on defense, Tatum pointed at Brown before dapping him up at the Celtics logo. It was a tiny gesture, but an important one. Brown did the hard work, and Tatum acknowledged it.
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The scene was very different during Game 2 of the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals vs. the Heat. Late in the second quarter, Brown made a jumper and then chased down a Kemba Walker miss with a tremendous hustle play.
True superstars recognize that teammates need to be rewarded for such effort, but Tatum instead dipped into his bag and attempted to go one-on-one, even though Brown had a speed advantage on Jae Crowder in the corner.
As the shot clock wound down and Tatum dithered on the wing, Brown clapped his hands in frustration as if to say, "GIMME THE DAMN BALL." Tatum belatedly consented and Brown stuck the pull-up jumper to give the Celtics a 17-point lead. They didn't score for the rest of the half and ended up blowing the game, prompting Marcus Smart to throw chairs in the postgame locker room. That one play highlighted their on-court dysfunction.
Fast forward two years, and everything has changed. The C's didn't soar last season until Tatum embraced the role of facilitator. He nearly matched his lifetime total of double-digit assist games (four) in the playoffs alone (three), including a career-high 13 in the shocking Game 1 Finals win at Golden State.
That selflessness continued on Tuesday. Tatum may have only recorded four assists, but he created multiple open looks for teammates, particularly Al Horford, who had his hands full with Embiid and didn't particularly seek out his offense.
Twice in the second half, Tatum kicked to Horford for wide-open corner threes. Horford missed both before nailing the third with two minutes left. Tatum drew three defenders in the lane, found Horford in the corner, and then enthusiastically slapped five with him when the shot splashed, earning an appreciative pat on the back in return.
It's a sign of Tatum's growing maturity that he reserved his biggest displays of emotion for teammates, including the technical foul he received arguing a phantom foul call on Horford.
That's exactly what needs to happen if the Celtics are going to surmount the final hurdle and win a championship. The little moments don't lie, and these Tatum moments tell us he's invested in everyone else's success.
Plenty of superstars never cross that final threshold. The exceptions don't just contend for MVPs -- they win championships.