The man is a brick house when he attacks the cup, and he is not afraid to sacrifice his body on plays when the competition gets intense as well. He has won at the highest levels by sacrificing his ego and giving the team what it needs from him in ways supposed future faces of the league have rebelled against doing elsewhere.

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is used to criticism, and there was ample opportunity for it on Friday night. The C’s fell to the Sacramento Kings, 114-97, and dropped to 8-7 in their last 15 games.

Mazzulla went on to strongly defend his star player in the same radio interview, calling Tatum “one of the best Celtics of all time” while stressing the need to ignore outsiders’ opinions.