Boston Celtic swingman Jayson Tatum talks on quarantining, COVID-19

Boston Celtic All-Star forward Jayson Tatum opens up on how his life has changed since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Boston Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum has been struggling like the rest of us at moments, the overwhelming nature of such a serious, global event too much for anyone to cope with on their own at all times.

Speaking with Good N’ Plenty Podcast host Jeff Goodman on a recent episode, the Duke product opened up on how life has been since the NBA-mandated period of self-quarantine began nearly three weeks ago.

For the Celtics, one of five teams to have played the Utah Jazz soon before  their center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus on March 11th, maintaining quarantine was especially important to avoid inadvertently spreading the viral pandemic.

But that didn’t make it easier.

“The first week — a little over a week — was tough,” Tatum began, “because I was in Boston and I couldn’t see [my son] Deuce — and that was the toughest part.

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“As soon as soon as I found out I was negative. I got to go pick him up and it just made it easier — [my] stress was gone, and if I’m being honest, I’d rather be able to see Deuce, so I’ve just been chilling,” he continued.

“That was the longest like I’ve ever been in the same place as him and couldn’t couldn’t see him,” added the St. Louis native.

When asked Deuce’s reaction to being apart from his dad as long as he was, Tatum opened up about how the two coped with their medically-necessary distancing.

“I don’t know if he knew I was at home … I was facetiming him every night and facetiming throughout the day. I went to his mom’s house and knocked on their door [once I could see him]. He opened it. And he was he was happy. I just picked him up and grabbed him.”

“I never thought of an instance where I would be in the same city as him and have to go more than a week without seeing him,” he continued.

“With a lot of things that we do on the regular that have [been] taken away from us right now that we can take for granted … hopefully, when this is all over, I’m sure we won’t take [them for granted] any more.”

An air of mystery has hung over the team since world events forced them to remove themselves from the public eye save occasional social media posts.

Starting all the way back to the initial moments after Gobert’s test results turned the NBA universe upside down, fans have been mostly in the dark about what has gone on since.

Tatum shed light on how testing happened with the team, a rightfully touchy subject given many with symptoms continue to be unable to access diagnostic tests.

But at the time, all that was known then was that they’d been exposed, and the nature of their job could have caused them to have exposed many others to the virus.

“We all took [the test] on the same day because we were all traveling together,” offered the Missourian, “once we came back from Milwaukee.”

“We took the test a couple of days later, but the way they explained it to us is [that] the lab was obviously extremely busy. So, they were working as best as they could to get the test back as soon as possible.

Everybody got the test [back] on different days. And it was it was scary when it was Smart … after he had it, and he didn’t have any symptoms.”

“So it was like, wow, any of us can can have it at this point,” he related.

Tatum spent his time holed up with his mother, not far from where his son was with his mother. To be so close but still apart was hard, as it’s been for many of us in these last few weeks.

At first, the third-year forward just layed about the house, “just watching TV and eating all day … nap, get up, watch a show, eat.”

“It’s your life without games and practices. Same thing you do — just add in games and practices, and that’s your everyday life,” he added.

But that didn’t last for long.

As has been reported exhaustively, Tatum was actually the first of Drew Hanlen’s trainees to reach out for help staying fit in the hiatus; soon the 22-year-old was back at it, and getting much-needed supplies from the team.

“The [Celtics’] trainers … called me and asked me what I needed from the weight room, and they bring anything by,” he noted. “They brought a bike by, they bought bands and a weight bench and dumbbells just to stay ready and stay in shape.”

And while he may not have an on-site strength coach, his mother has been pretty good about telling him to get off the couch and onto the exercise equipment when he needs to hear it.

When it comes to pandemics, while we all might have different jobs, responsibilities and expectations related to them, most of us are going through something surprisingly relatable as we wait out the curve of infected people needing medical attention.

Sometimes, it hurts to be far from those we love, especially when the outside world is as scary as it has ever been in recent memory. Other times, it can seem almost pointless to get dressed.

But there will be a future, regardless of whether the NBA season or whatever we do for work remains out of commission for several more weeks — or much longer. Remember we’re in this together, and that the best way forward is to to stay together, even if at a distance.

Equally, to take care of each other by taking care of ourselves.

Exercise and eat as well as you are able. Reach out to friends and family online, or on the phone — for your mental health as well as theirs. And like Tatum, appreciate those around you who you love, who you work with — even strangers.

Because this virus can’t be beaten by any of us, at least not alone.

But so long as we do our best to physically distance, keep our hygiene as good as we can, stay home as much as possible and look out for one another, then this virus doesn’t stand a chance.

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