Jayson Tatum Digs Up Footage of Face-Off with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. During His Rookie Season

Now 23, Jayson Tatum was the Boston Celtics’ 3^rd overall pick from the 2017 NBA draft. The then 19-year-old had a successful first season, despite the Celtics losing out in the Conference Finals. Tatum, alongside the likes of Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart, came up against the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1^st round. He went off the final 2 games of the series, playing his part in the dismantling of Giannis Antetokounmpo and company. Recently, Tatum posted a clip showing his highlights against Giannis from the series, on Twitter.

One of the most highly-rated young players in the league, Jayson Tatum has continued to improve since his first season. He produced impressive numbers as a rookie and has since been selected as an All-Star 4 times.

Jayson Tatum posts clip of playoff series against Giannis Antetokounmpo

Tatum scored 19 points in the first game of the series and had 3 games with at least 20. As a rookie, he found himself going up against one of the best forwards in the league, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Tatum did not fail to impress and had a number of memorable moments against the Greek Freak. This included a couple of dunks and a number of shots that he took over Giannis. The clip proves that Tatum had all the ingredients to be a superstar right from the start.

The Celtics player also posted a caption expressing his surprise over how quickly time flies. While the young Celtics team had multiple superstars, they fell short against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Time flies https://t.co/SIBp8VSEk6

— Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0) September 6, 2023

Irving has since obviously moved on. However, the likes of Smart, Tatum, and Brown continue to form the core of the Celtics team. They came close to winning the championship in 2022 and will be hoping that Tatum can lead them to it in the coming time.

Jayson Tatum chest-pumped LeBron James in his rookie season

Tatum not only lit up the league with his obvious talent as a 19-year-old,  but he also had the balls to chest-pump LeBron James after dunking on the great.

The youngster later claimed that he had no idea why he yelled and bumped against LeBron. However, he also said that he was glad, and had no regrets, according to Basketball Forever.

Not a lot of youngsters can actually say that they dunked over James in their rookie season, let alone having chest-pumped the 4-time NBA champion. Regardless, it undoubtedly proved to be a special moment, one that Jayson Tatum will remember throughout his career, perhaps even life.