"I always knew I'd get a Kobe Bryant tattoo": Jayson Tatum reveals that he had a no. 24 tattooed on himself on the Knuckleheads Podcast

The Boston Celtics All-Star, Jayson Tatum has a new tattoo of the late Kobe Bryant’s second jersey number 24 in his memory.

Recently on the Knuckleheads Podcast, Jayson Tatum was asked about his new tattoo of Kobe Bryant‘s jersey no 24 on his left leg. The relation between these two goes way back.

For most of the current stars in the NBA, Kobe was a huge inspiration. The Black Mamba was known to learn from the greats before and bestow his basketball wisdom to the next generation.

It was a huge loss for the basketball world when Kobe passed away in a tragic helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. But the legacy he left still inspires people including NBA players like Tatum.

While talking about the tattoo, Tatum said “Somebody as important and influential to me, I always knew I will eventually get one “.

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The relation between Kobe Bryant and Jayson Tatum

Tatum grew up as a Kobe fan. As a matter of fact, some of Kobe’s signature moves can be seen in Jayson’s game, especially when it comes to the post-ups and iso game. Even the ex -NBA volume scorer Gilbert Arenas sees the similarities between them.

In a Tutum’s breakdown video, Gilbert predicted that “2 or 3 years from now, you gonna see a player who’s dominating this game on a Kobe level. Because he possesses all those intangibles that are gonna make him compared to that guy.”

Even Kobe did a breakdown video on Jayson’s game against Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2018 playoffs on ESPN’s DETAIL. Soon after the video came out, Kobe got in touch with Tatum and invited him to work out with him that summer.

Remembering those days on JJ Reddick‘s podcast, Jayson said “It was just a surreal moment. Just looking at him, remembering myself when I was a young kid, watching him on TV and being like, that’s who I want to be like. This is why I love basketball because he inspired me”.