The Celtics are set to face the Mavericks tomorrow night, and Jayson Tatum is ready for a comeback to action after 10 months on the sidelines due to an Achilles injury he suffered in the playoffs last season. A day before the game, Carmelo Anthony, the former NBA player, gave Tatum some advice during an episode of his show ‘7 PM in Brooklyn’.
“For so long, JB has sacrificed everything. Now it’s like JT, what are you going to sacrifice? I held the fort down for you and the whole organization, which probably didn’t think we would be in this situation.”
“JT has to be very mature about this situation. It’s no ego, no pride. We got a chance to come back and win a championship. So let me just put my pride and ego aside for these next 3 months and continue to let JB steer the ship.”
“Because he has proved that he can do it at an MVP level on both sides of the court. Nobody in Boston thought this was how it would be,” said Anthony on his show.
These comments did not sit well with Jayson Tatum’s trainer, Drew Hanlen, who called out the former NBA player on social media.
“The irony of Carmelo Anthony trying to tell Jayson Tatum how to win,” wrote Hanlen on X while seemingly calling out Carmelo Anthony’s lack of a championship. Anthony saw Hanlen’s comments and responded on social media.
“Damn, Drew! HEARD YOU,” wrote the 2025 Hall of Famer on X under Hanlen’s post. Tatum’s trainer seemingly backtracked and offered a clarification of his comments.
“Melo is a hall of famer, gold medalist & one of the best bucket-getters in NBA history. In fact, outside of Kobe, he was the player we studied/stole from more than anyone when JT was in high school.”
“My tweet wasn’t downplaying how good he was as a player. It was addressing Melo’s comments suggesting JT needed to take a backseat in order to win. JT is an NBA champion & 14-6 in playoff series. He knows how to win,” wrote Hanlen on X.
“Just think the media, especially former players like Melo, who knows JT rocks with him, should be celebrating the fact that JT has worked his ass off to give himself a chance to get back on the court this season instead of dropping hot takes.”
Tatum has always seen Carmelo Anthony as an inspiration and looks up to him. Hanlen’s main issue is that Anthony is indulging in the discourse of how the team dynamics should work without giving Tatum a chance to prove that he will do anything the team needs from him.
It was not intended to be a dig on Anthony’s legacy. This is the big problem in former players being analysts; people often bring up your resume when you are advising another on how to play. And even when Hanlen claims it wasn’t a shot at him, the public perceives otherwise.
There is no doubt that Jaylen Brown was running the show for the Celtics in Tatum’s absence. Brown has averaged 28.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while shooting 48.0% from the field and 34.8% from beyond the arc so far this season.
More than Hanlen, it should be Tatum who is focused on responding to all the haters on the court as he nears his highly-anticipated return.
The Celtics are currently 41-21 and second in the East. With just 20 games left before the playoffs, Tatum’s return is a pivotal point for them in the season. It will be interesting to see how Tatum responds to his critics on the court.
