How Jayson Tatum Impressed Celtics By Playing Through Sickness At Workout

The Boston Celtics reportedly were waffling between two players to take with the No. 3 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. But in their own ways, Jayson Tatum and Josh Jackson made Boston’s decision quite easy.

Jackson made Celtics staffers fly cross-country only to cancel his pre-draft workout at the last minute, according to Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge. Tatum, meanwhile, came to Boston for his own workout Monday and delivered a strong performance despite fighting off a minor sickness.

“He was on antibiotics, his nose was dripping, the whole deal,” Ainge said Friday during an interview with CSN New England. “But he didn’t complain … He showed up and made shots.”

The 19-year-old Duke product admitted he was under the weather earlier this week but didn’t think twice about cancelling or rescheduling his workout.

“I wasn’t feeling well at all,” Tatum told CSN New England on Friday after his introductory press conference in Waltham, Mass. “But you can’t make excuses, because there can be times in the future where there’s a game or playoff game where you’re not feeling well, and nobody’s going to care. You’ve got to produce.

“I knew the draft pick was on the line, that I had to really perform, and I think I did pretty well.”

Apparently the Celtics thought so, too, as they made the Blue Devils forward the third overall pick in Thursday night’s draft. You can debate whether Jackson or Tatum is the more talented player, but both Ainge and head coach Brad Stevens made it very clear during Friday’s press conference that Boston is high on Tatum’s character.

“He fits with not only the way we want to play, but also who we want to be, and I think that’s really important,” Stevens said during the press conference. “Here’s a guy that’s very good, but he’s committed to being better. … It’s a really good fit for our group.”

Boston drafted Tatum in part for his elite scoring ability on the wing: He averaged 16.8 points per game as a freshman last season and shot 45 percent from the floor. Ainge hopes the 6-foot-8 swingman can take that offensive potential to the next level in the NBA.

“That’s one of Jayson’s great strengths: his ability to create shots,”Ainge said. “… We think he can create off the ball coming off of screens (with) his shooting. We can give him the ball, as well, and he can create shots for himself and his teammates. We need him to work on his left hand a little bit, but other than that, I think he’s got a pretty good array of moves already coming into the league.”