Jayson Tatum, Brad Stevens study a dynasty at New England Patriots training camp

Tom Brady at day 3 of the Patriots' training camp. Photo via David Silverman.

Earlier today, Celtics' star Jayson Tatum along with his head coach Brad Stevens took some time to visit the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots at day four of their training camp. 

Making friends with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Stevens has made a habit of visiting Coach Bill Belichick and the rest of the team during their offseason efforts, stating that he is a huge fan of both the process and culture they have in place.

I mean, how could you not be? Since Belichick joined the team as head coach in the year 2000, the New England Patriots have won a total of six Super Bowls (tied for the most in NFL history with the Pittsburgh Steelers) and nine AFC championships. The Patriots dynasty has been going on for nearly two decades now, and with their most recent Super Bowl win coming last season they don't appear to be slowing down.

When asked about his experience at the professional football camp on The Dan Le Batard Show last year, Stevens summarized the trip stating "it was just amazing." He went on to say
"But they have a special, special culture. All the players, all the coaches, everybody on board are all working in one direction all the time. And you know they've obviously reaped unbelievable results."
Clearly, the winning culture of the Pats made an impact on Stevens' and his influence over the Boston Celtics from the get-go. Connecting the dots, it shouldn't come as a surprise that this year, young Celtics' star Jayson Tatum tagged along to see how the Super Bowl champs do things himself.
Sporting a clover, Tatum made his way through practice speaking with McDaniels and other members of the organization as well. In a short video interview with the New England Patriots Twitter team, Tatum gave his thoughts on his interactions with three-time MVP, six-time Super Bowl champion, and New England sports legend Tom Brady.
Just a few months ago, Tatum said he wanted to play for the Boston Celtics for his entire career. For this reason, New England sports fans should be encouraged by Tatum's appearance at camp earlier today. Embracing the winning culture of Boston sports could go along way in terms of Tatum's future as the potential face of the Boston Celtics franchise. Gaining an understanding of what it means to play in the best sports city in America could be a major contributor to his mentality both on and off the court.

One player of note to have visited the Patriots during pre-season practice in the last few years was former Celtics' all-star point guard Isaiah Thomas. Along with his sons, Thomas interacted with now-retired star tight end Rob Gronkowski, Super Bowl LIII MVP wide receiver Julian Edelman, and the team owner Robert Kraft. Celtics' legend Paul Pierce has also been known to show support for Boston sports both during and after his time in green. Perhaps his most notable stint in the Pats' red, white and blue was on his way into his final game in the TD Garden as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers.
With all four of the major Boston sports teams having so much success over the last couple of decades, star players bouncing from Gilette Stadium to Fenway Park to TD Garden to show their support should come as no surprise.

The embracement of the winning culture has always been a major factor in each organization's success. This is especially true for Patriots' players as in the last few years the Patriots have made an effort to come out and support some of the biggest games in Boston. When it comes to the Celtics, Gronkowski, Edelman, Belichick, and twins Devin and Jason McCourty have made very notable appearances at the Garden.
With the Patriots embracing the Celtics it only makes sense that stars like Tatum return the favor. Even if it had the smallest of influences, let's hope that Tatum's time at camp today can play a part in showing him the ultimate winner's mentality and what goes into the killer instinct of Patriots greats as he heads into his third and arguably most anticipated season of his career.

You can follow Thomas Desmond on Twitter @td_654.

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I'm a college student studying in Creative Writing as well as Communication and Media studies.