LeBron James influenced an entire generation of basketball players throughout his career. His countless awards and championships are incredible achievements, but his greatest achievement may be playing alongside his son, which has never been done before in NBA history. However, Celtics star Jayson Tatum has his eyes set on becoming the next father-son duo in the NBA.
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Many NBA players have seen their children make it to the league, from Gary Payton to Michael Thompson. However, LeBron is the first to be active at the same time, nevertheless, play on the same team as his son. The accomplishment from the James family has ignited the motivation within Tatum and his son, Deuce, to be next.
Duece is seven years old and he won’t be NBA-eligible until he is roughly 19 years old. That would mean that Tatum would be 39 if he were to keep playing until Duece could potentially join the NBA. The six-time All-Star spoke about his goals during his appearance on the New Heights Podcast.
“A lot of things got to go right for [Jayson and Duece to play together in the NBA],” Tatum said. “If he wanted to play basketball then we can.”
Deuce Tatum is a certified bucket pic.twitter.com/0975npiUF2
— New Heights (@newheightshow) March 28, 2025
Tatum didn’t shy away from admitting he would love to play alongside Deuce someday, provided basketball is something that Deuce would want to pursue. If the past few months are an indicator, it seems the young child wants to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“I would say in the last 6-10 months, he’s really fell in love with the game,” Tatum said. “He’s been more attentive at the game. He asks questions and he plays basketball now, every Saturday.”
Tatum made sure not to force basketball upon his son. If his son were to develop the same appreciation and love for the sport, he wanted it to happen naturally. This is just the beginning for the seven-year-old and Tatum couldn’t be happier.
This conversation with the Kelce’s isn’t the first time he’s spoken on the concept of playing with his son. He has been thinking about this for months.
Tatum thinks the idea of a father-son playing together is cool
In the first month of the 2024-25 NBA season, Tatum sat with Khari Arnold of NBA.com for a special interview. He spoke on his new children’s book titled “Baby-Dunks-a-Lot” and opened up about the idea of playing with Deuce for the first time.
The Celtics star couldn’t contain his praise and excitement regarding LeBron and Bronny playing together in the league.
“For one, I think that is the coolest thing ever,” Tatum said. “To just see pictures from LeBron’s first couple of years in the league and having Bronny with him all the time and on the court to now share these moments together.” His tone shifted when it came to speaking regarding the possibility of Duece and him playing together.
“As far as me and Deuce, I don’t know,” Tatum confessed. “A lot of things would have to go right for that to happen. It’s too early to tell.
Deuce is still a child and has plenty of time to figure out what he wants to make of his life. Tatum has expressed that he will support anything his son chooses to pursue. If that happens to be basketball, Tatum will embrace it. But, most importantly, it won’t change the relationship he has with his son.
