BOSTON — Jayson Tatum, as dejected as we have seen him in his nascent career, lolled out of the press room following his Boston Celtics' NBA Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors and hugged his father.
"It hurts," Tatum had just told a horde of reporters huddled in a corner of TD Garden, as the smell of cigar smoke emanated from the nearby visitors' locker room. "I feel like I could have done a lot of things better."
Following a lengthy discussion, the first team All-NBA forward exited the arena in one direction, and Justin Tatum left in the other, stopping occasionally to greet gathered friends and family, Celtics staff and media.