5 things to know about Jayson Tatum
The Boston Celtics star has been making headlines since his start with the Celtics, but did you know he’s also a gold medalist for Team USA?
Jayson Tatum is one of the NBA’s best offensive players and he’s making headlines yet again for outshining one of the NBA’s other best offensive players, Kevin Durant. Tatum put up his fourth 50+ point game against the Nets on Sunday, overshadowing Durant’s achievement of 25,000 career points and getting Boston the victory. It’s Tatum’s ability to dominate on offense with his impressive footwork and get the big shots that make him stand out amongst the rest. Here are five things to know about the Celtics star.
His father played basketball professionally and taught Jayson the game
Though his father never played in the NBA, Justin Tatum did play basketball both in college and professionally in Europe. He left his career in Amsterdam when Tatum was in third grade to come home and teach his son how to play. Tatum was playing kids two to three years older than him already.
Tatum has been a part of USA basketball since 2013
Tatum is quite familiar with the game, having played from a young age. He’s been part of Team USA since 2013. Before even joining the Duke University basketball team, Tatum had already won gold in the U16 Americas Championships. U17 World Championships, and the U19 World Championships. In 2020, he won his fourth gold at the 2020 Olympic Games.
His inspiration is Kobe Bryant
Tatum has spoken about looking up to Kobe Bryant for a long time. Since he was a kid, he would watch the Lakers and try to imitate what Kobe did. Tatum says Kobe is the reason he started playing basketball. Kobe eventually became a mentor to Tatum, and you can see a lot of similarities in their game.
He only played at Duke one season before entering the NBA draft
Tatum was bound to be a professional from the start. He only spent one season playing for Duke before deciding to enter in the NBA Draft. He was chosen third overall in the first round by the Boston Celtics, who honestly had probably been eyeing him for years at that point.
He shares two Celtics records with Larry Bird
On May 1, 2021 in a win over the San Antonio Spurs, Jayson Tatum tied a record with Celtics legend Larry Bird. Bird hit that record on March 12, 1985. It only took 36 years for another great to come along and get that record, and that great was Tatum. On Sunday, March 6, 2022, he tied another one of Bird’s records for most 50-point games (four) in franchise history with his 54-point game against the Brooklyn Nets.