Sometimes a slight tweak is all it takes.
And for Jayson Tatum and his jump shot, it’s made a world of difference.
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The Boston Celtics superstar tweaked his jumper in the offseason after struggling in last year’s Finals and playing sparingly throughout Team USA’s run to Olympic gold.
The tweak was immediately noticed when the Celtics played the Denver Nuggets in Abu Dhabi for two preseason games way back in early October.
It was the smallest of sample sizes at the time, but the early returns on Tatum’s jumper and struggles from the Olympics and throughout last year’s postseason, seemed to be well on their way to being put to bed.
Matt Moore, noted NBA Writer for Action Network posted on X: “Tatum’s jumper looking cleaner is a little tiny thing from preseason that I think you can take note of.”
Keith Smith, of Spotrac and Front Office Sports, also noticed the difference in Tatum’s jumper, saying: “Jayson Tatum’s form on his jumper is way cleaner. Hitch is gone, release is quicker and at the top of his rise.”
Again, it was a very small sample size seven months ago, but fast forward to May, and it’s clear the tweak has paid off for Tatum.
The six-time All-Star finished the regular season averaging 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6 assists on 45.2% from the field.
He is well on his way to his fourth All-NBA team and leads the Celtics into the second round as heavy favorites against Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks.
The Celtics look primed to repeat as NBA champions, something that hasn’t been done since Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors did it in 2017-2018.
And it could all be traced back to a slight tweak.
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It was never that Tatum couldn’t shoot, it was just that he seemed to lose confidence in his shot towards the end of the season and through the Olympics.
You might think that a guy who is coming off an NBA championship and a gold medal might not need to work on much, but that wasn’t the case for the Celtics star.
At media day, Tatum revealed what he worked on in the offseason.
“Been working with my trainer Drew (Hanlen) a lot, recently in the last few weeks,” Tatum said. “Pick-up points, hand placement, getting lower, keeping my shoulders forward and things like that.
“There were some things I could have fixed, but in the midst of the playoffs, trying to manage your rest, it’s a little tougher. I was still playing well.
“I just wasn’t shooting the ball as well as I would have liked. And obviously, we were winning. So it wasn’t the time or the place to try to fix things in that moment.”
The good news for Boston Celtics fans, and bad news for the rest of the league, is that it looks like Tatum has more than fixed whatever was plaguing him last year, and is still looking for ways to improve.
“Overall, I can still get better,” Tatum said in an interview with NBC Sports Boston back in September.
“You haven’t seen the best version of Jayson Tatum. And you shouldn’t…I should continue to keep getting better.”
That’s a scary thought for the rest of the league.
As it looks like it has come to fruition.