“Jayson Tatum shows off Mamba Mentality”: Celtics star slaps Kyrie Irving on butt in typical Kobe Bryant fashion after draining turnaround fadeaway

Kyrie Irving may have had the last laugh on the night, but Jayson Tatum carved his own highlights on Christmas Day.

Both Kyrie and Tatum are ardent followers of the Mamba Mentality. Along with Kawhi Leonard, these are the 3 players who typify the Lakers legend’s game the most. Kyrie was Tatum’s mentor on the offensive end in his first 2 seasons in the NBA.

The Nets and Celtics were having a go at each other this afternoon in the first half of the game. Neither team could create much separation from its opponent, but they were stacking up plays on both ends of the floor. There were some that will make mixtape compilations for sure.

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One such moment was Jayson Tatum’s exemplary turnaround fadeaway jumper in the first quarter. Being guarded by Kyrie out on the right wing, Tatum put in a vicious spin move before elevating and swishing a great shot. It was textbook, the technique JT applied for the shot.

Jayson Tatum unlocks his inner Kobe Bryant with butt slap to Kyrie Irving

After swishing the shot over Kyrie, the duo turned back towards the other rim. Tatum, who’s mighty close with Kyrie, decided to have some fun at his expense. He slapped Irving on the butt as they ran on for the next play.

Tatum giving Kyrie a friendly butt-tap after hitting a 3 over his ex-teammate pic.twitter.com/Zbynj2pQ0T

— Reid Goldsmith (@reidgoldsmith) December 25, 2020

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This seemed to light a fire under Irving, who definitely wouldn’t have liked to be out-Mamba’ed by a young un. Irving stepped on the gas pedal in the second quarter, scoring 14 points.

Irving eventually finished the night with 37 points and 8 assists as the Nets won their second blowout of the season. Tatum and the Celtics will be licking their wounds ahead of their next game.