Jayson Tatum is currently the face of the Boston Celtics, one of the NBA’s most successful franchises in this league’s history. In an interview for the NBA, he revealed that Kobe Bryant was his first jersey ever, and still cherishes it the most. Despite being with the Celtics for six years and entering his 7th, the player has always admired Kobe, who played his entire career for their biggest rival – the Los Angeles Lakers.
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The rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics has spanned decades. It began with the matchup between Bill Russell and Jerry West in the 1960s and later added Wilt Chamberlain to the mix. The competition was renewed in the 1980s with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. This was probably the greatest era for the two teams. Most recently, the two teams faced each other between 2008-2010 when Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett led their respective teams. As things stand now, the two franchises have won 17 championships each and are looking to make it 18.
Jayson Tatum reveals his first jersey to be Kobe Bryant
With the new NBA season just three days away, the league is celebrating NBA Jersey Day on the 23rd of October. They interviewed the biggest stars of the game to find out who their first jersey was growing up. Jayson Tatum, who plays small forward for the Boston Celtics, revealed his first jersey to be Kobe Bryant. Here is what he said on the same:
“First NBA jersey I owned was purple and gold, Lakers 24 Kobe jersey. I think it was either for Christmas or my birthday. That was kind of the first time, that I thought about, dreamed of like, one day I am going to put my own jersey up.”
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Since a very young age, Jayson Tatum has always looked up to the great Kobe Bryant. He has tried to model his game to match that of the five-time champion and has succeeded a fair amount. As a rookie in 2018, Tatum was invited for a workout by Bryant. A moment Tatum compared to that of a ‘kid in a candy store‘.
There are some obvious similarities in both their games, starting with an ability to play both ends of the court. Tatum’s jumper is as smooth as any player’s in the league, and like Kobe is unafraid to take a contested fadeaway shot. The workout session with Kobe helped the Celtics player learn the little things that improved his game. According to Tatum, it was an experience unlike any other.
Tatum remembers 24 Kobe versus 8 Kobe
Kobe Bryant played the entirety of his career with two distinct numbers on his back – 8 and 24. He started with the number 8 and won three NBA championships. Later, in 2007, the player switched to number 24 and won another two rings. He also won the coveted MVP award wearing 24. When Tatum was asked about his preference between the two versions of the superstar, here is what he said:
“I saw a little bit of 8. I vividly remember every 24. I guess I am gonna say 24 just coz he won MVP with 24. He should have had 3 or 4 more.”
There could be a bias here as Tatum was a little kid when Kobe was wearing number 8, whereas he was more mature to understand the game during the number 24 days. That being said, the 24 version of the mamba was as ruthless as any player ever. He didn’t have a bonafide superstar like Shaq this time around. Yet, he willed his team to two championships and won Finals MVPs in the process.
