“He was like, ‘Yo, don’t look for me, be yourself, I need you to kill’” - Jayson Tatum reveals what Kevin Durant told him during the Olympics
As a 15-year-old, Jayson Tatum grew up looking up to Kevin Durant and wanting to play like him. While Tatum made his way into the NBA, Durant did it all. Before Tatum was drafted third in 2017, KD clinched the Rookie of the Year award, eight All-Star selections, four scoring titles, a Finals MVP, league MVP and a championship ring.
The youngster had his first game against Durant on Nov. 16, 2017. The Boston Celtics hosted the Golden State Warriors and won 92-88, with Tatum scoring 12 points.
On "The Draymond Green Show," Tatum recollected playing with KD for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics. He shared an interaction with Durant after passing up a shot:
"I remember specifically coming down on the wing. Somebody kicked me the ball. And on the Celtics I would have shot it ... I just remembered K was to the right of me, and I passed it to him. And I remember he got mad at me.
"He was like, 'Yo, don't look for me. Be yourself. I need you to kill.' And that was the first time I was like, 'No, he want me to hoop, too.'"
Jayson Tatum's relationship with Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant
Speaking of his relationship with Kevin Durant, one memory that lives in Jayson Tatum's mind is from last summer. The three-time All-Star had gone from facing KD in the playoffs to being his Team USA teammat in the Olympics in the space of three months.
Taco Jay and the Boston Celtics had finished seventh in the East but lost in five games to Durant's Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs last season.
“Durant is somebody I looked up to growing up," Tatum said. "And getting to have that matchup with him during the playoffs, and then being his teammate and having conversations with him overseas, it’s something that I will always remember,”
Kevin Durant says, in part, of becoming Team USA's all-time leading scorer in the Olympics, "This guy to the left (Jayson Tatum), I think he's going to be the next one to break that record."
Both players have gone head-to-head 12 times, including four playoff meetings. Durant has claimed victory eight times, including all four in the playoffs. In those games, Tatum averaged 24.6 points per game while Durant averaged 28.8 ppg.