Jayson Tatum examined optimistic for COVID-19 in January, and the Boston Celtics star handled the results of the virus even after he returned to the court docket.
And as he prepares to signify the USA within the Tokyo Olympics, his expertise in the course of the pandemic is not misplaced on him.
Tatum mentioned his COVID-19 prognosis helped form the mindset he is bringing with him to his first Olympic look.
“I’ve discovered to not take issues as a right,” he mentioned, per Taylor Snow of NBA.com. “I believe within the local weather of the final yr and a half, simply realizing that not all the pieces is promised, and also you by no means know what might or could not occur. So I am simply staying within the second and actually having fun with this journey, this technique of being 23 and being within the Olympics. It is an honor. It truly is a dream come true.”
Tatum missed 5 video games because of the virus, and after he rejoined the squad he revealed he struggled with respiration points and felt extra fatigued than common. In April, he advised ESPN’s Tim Bontemps he had to make use of an inhaler earlier than video games, one thing he by no means did earlier than his prognosis.
Whereas Tatum has put the virus behind him, the remainder of Group USA hasn’t been as fortunate. Bradley Beal will miss the Olympics as a result of COVID-19, and Jerami Grant and Zach LaVine each went by stints in well being and security protocols however had been cleared to rejoin the crew.
