Jayson Tatum's performance on opening night was the epitome of character

Since Jayson Tatum was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 2017, he has always been the soft-spoken guy. I'm not sure there's ever been an instance where he said something that made me go, “Wait, what did he say?”

That just doesn't happen with JT.

The summer of 2024 has been a summer of scrutiny and criticism for Tatum, even though he and the Cs won the franchise's 18th NBA title in June, and he STILL never got defensive.

However, some of it was ridiculous. From criticizing his reactions to winning a championship to saying he lacked “aura,” it all got pretty silly. Additionally, he watched from the sidelines during the Olympics.

“Definitely a humbling experience, right?” Tatum told Joe Vardon of The Athletic that he was on the bench at the Olympics. “Win a championship, a new contract, a cover of (NBA) 2K and then you sit for a whole game. Cover of Sports Illustrated. So it was definitely a humbling experience.”

Although he didn't respond to any of the critics, Tatum heard the noise.

“It was a lot. In the age of social media, you see everything,” Tatum told Jared Weiss of The Athletic in August. “You see all the tweets and the people on the podcasts and the people on TV giving their opinions on it, whether they thought it was a good decision or an outrageous decision or whatever.

It's almost as if he sat there stewing all summer and then gave it his all on opening night with the New York Knicks and let his game do the talking.

Tuesday's performance may have been the most dominant of No. 0's NBA career. That was evident in the opening period when he scored 15 points in the first quarter.

Tatum finished the night with 37 points on an efficient 13-17 from the field. He was also efficient in the passing game. He provided 10 assists and only committed one turnover. Even the passes that didn't directly lead to an assist were absolutely surgical.

According to longtime Celtics stat guru Dick Lipe, Tatum's performance was historically efficient.

“I’m proud of the way he shot the ball and dominated in all areas,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He picked his spots really well and got the shots he wanted. The guy just works hard every day. He doesn't let things get in the way of what's most important. That showed tonight.”

As usual, Tatum didn't comment much on the criticism he received over the summer, but rather praised the team as a whole for their high level of play and the work they put in in practice.

“I thought we picked up where we left off last year. We brought almost everyone back. We have played to our strengths and know what we want to achieve. We know the sets and actions we need to address and we are constantly working on that. Work on readings in practice every day.”

That's what they say about character.

This is how you behave when no one is watching.