Before becoming stars in the NBA, Michael Porter Jr. and former champion Jayson Tatum spent time together as teammates in AAU, so it’s safe to say they know each other’s game well. It all came rushing back to MPJ when he went up against Tatum in a scrimmage, which he called his favorite 1v1 battle ever.
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Last year, several NBA players were even asked about potentially holding a 1-v-1 tournament. While many thought it would be a good idea, top candidates like Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant emerged as hypothetical frontrunners to win it all. It never happened, but they were dripping with confidence.
Porter Jr. spoke on this topic on the latest edition of his Curious Mike podcast. The Brooklyn Nets star recalled his favorite 1-on-1 matchup he ever had. It featured himself and one of the league’s top ballers in Tatum.
“My favorite 1-0n-1 I ever had was…me and Jayson Tatum were both on a visit to Mizzou. There was a picture of us. It was me, JT, and Tramaine Isabell, who was playing at Mizzou at that time. It was us three playing king of the court,” .Porter Jr. said, before beginning to reminisce about high school.
The 3-point specialist joked that he and Tatum ended up playing each other a lot in that game because they kept “killing Tramaine.” “That’s probably my favorite 1-on-1 I ever had. I think we both split a game,” Porter Jr. recalled.
Such a fun memory for Porter. Sure, he and JT ended up taking different paths in their careers, but both are still competing in the best basketball league in the world. Not only that, but MPJ revealed that his history with the Celtics superstar goes a little further back than that, too.
“He actually played on my AAU team. Growing up he played a couple of years with me. He was living in St. Louis and came down to play with my team a couple of times.”
If they were to run it back today, it’s safe to say Tatum would smoke the former Nuggets forward. Tatum’s range is just as deadly as Porter’s, but his post and midrange game are far superior.
Tatum’s 1v1 brilliance in the eyes of Durant
It’s not that there’s a lack of belief in Porter, but JT just seems like a sneaky dark horse to be one of the league’s best 1v1 players. Durant even admitted as much during a chat with Draymond Green on The Draymond Green Show. When talking about a hypothetical 1s tournament, KD said that Tatum was a guy who had already beaten him.
“You can say I can win this but I can also lose too,” Durant barked. “I done played ones with Jayson Tatum, and he got cooking. I would say [Tatum], Kyrie, for the simple fact that I played against them… Like a Joel [Embiid]… Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], I mean Shai be tough.”
That’s a pretty significant list of greatness. And for Durant to be the one to list it? Makes you think about how good Kyrie and JT really are.
One thing is for certain: Porter Jr. getting to have that memory will hopefully excite him for his first year in Brooklyn. A big reason the trade was made so he can branch out and grow his game from the role he had in Denver. If he can, the East might be a little bit more compelling.
