Who could’ve guessed a guard’s favorite player would turn out to be forward instead? While there are countless such instances, the latest one to be added to the list is San Antonio Spurs’ rookie, Stephon Castle’s love and admiration for Boston Celtics star and the newly crowned NBA champion, Jayson Tatum.
Advertisement
Castle was massively dazzled and amazed by Jayson Tatum’s versatility on the court. Sitting down for a one-on-one with host Justin Termine on SiriusXM NBA Radio, the 19-year-old explained what stands out to him in Jayson Tatum’s skill set and approach to the game.
“I just feel like he does so many different things on the court. I mean, you can put him really anywhere. He can be at the 1(point guard position) for you, he could be at the 4(power forward) for you.”
“He does so many different things on the court”
When @StephonCastle joined @TermineRadio & @TomCrean, he broke down his favorite player, Jayson Tatum
Hear the full interview with NBA Radio here! https://t.co/KiLCrOSRIq#NBADraft | @UConnMBB | @SiriusXMSports pic.twitter.com/eGMlhjH9KR
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) June 30, 2024
Towering at 6’8″, Tatum is a chiseled 210 pounds who started off at the small forward position but shifted to the 4. Initially, the Duke product came into the league as an iso mid-range shooter. But over the years, Tatum has worked on his game to cover almost all aspects of both offense and defense.
Now, JT is just one of the latest additions to that athletic stretch forward that is a nightmare to opposing coaches. Tatum is too fast for traditional forwards to stay in front of while being too big for guards to contain him on defense.
And being only an inch smaller than the 26-year-old, Castle can duplicate what the Celtics star does on the floor. While that may take a few years to come to fruition, there is a slight chance that the five-star recruit may develop into a much better defender than Tatum in the future.
As the interview went on, Castle took Tatum’s recent Finals performance as a reference to justify the admiration he has for his game.
“He’s knocking down shots, he’s playmaking. You saw in the finals…He had a lot of assists in one of those final games. He’s just getting better, really, in his all-around game. I just like players who are super-versatile like that.”
By his eighth year in the league, Jayson Tatum was able to lead the Boston Celtics to another NBA championship, ending a 16-year drought. Apart from winning the title, the 26-year-old has been selected to play in the All-Star games five times and has also made the All-NBA 1st Team thrice.
But the cherry on top was winning his first ring, something he had been criticized over for the past few years. And now, Tatum has players coming into the league who idolized him growing up.
