Jayson Tatum: 'Mamba' in the making
Jayson Tatum's NBA highlight of the year came in the biggest game of his rookie year. The world is witness to what happened in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
With 6:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, with Cavaliers leading 71-67, the rookie received a pass from Marcus Smart. Seeing the lane open, he rammed through the free-throw line and did what only a few can dare to do. The rookie dunked on LeBron James. He didn't stop there! He went on to bump into James, scream in his face and marked his arrival.
For a 13-year-old kid to have dreamed of making it to the NBA, playing against his childhood heroes and achieving this at the age of 20 seems "surreal". Jayson's humility and coolness as a player comes from his humble beginning, when his mother decided to get him coached by Drew Hanlen.
After playing in his freshman year for Duke University and making a mark for himself, he declared for the 2017 NBA draft. Being one of the favorites in the draft class, he was drafted by the Boston Celtics #3 overall. After Gordon Hayward got injured in the season opener, Tatum had to fill in for the All-Star at the Small Forward position for the Celtics.
Playing 80 games in his rookie season he averaged 13.9 points, 5.0 rebounds with 47.5% field goal conversion and shot 43.4% from the arc. He took his game to even greater heights in the playoffs where he played a critical role in getting the team to Eastern Conference Finals where they fell a little short in front of LeBron James' Cavaliers.
In the 19 playoff games that he played, Tatum averaged 18.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists. In an interview with Grant Hill in 2017 on being asked how he sees himself as a player, Tatum replied "Somebody that can score the ball in a variety of different ways, who is gifted on both the ends of the floor."
The entirety of Jayson Tatum's game has glimpses of moves he has borrowed and honed from his childhood heroes and idols. He exhibits Paul George's skill at the arc, Carmelo Anthony's deadly mid-post excellence and the greatness of Kobe Bryant's footwork and his fadeaway jumper.
Jayson Tatum regards Kobe Bryant as the reason he started to play basketball. He considers him as the greatest of all time and never misses to appreciate his work ethic and his killer mentality. Tatum says that he has grown up studying Kobe's footage on YouTube and replicating it time and again to perfect it and copying every minute detail of it.
When Kobe Bryant took Jayson Tatum's analysis on his ESPN series "Detail" he was more than eager to take Bryant's advice and learn from him. Tatum worked out with Bryant in this off-season on improving his game.
Kobe also had praise for the young Celtic about the "immense potential" Tatum possesses and he also said openly "Why didn't the Lakers draft Jayson Tatum?". He is being considered the "Next Mamba" of the league by the media and the legends.
While Jayson is continuously running to get better and gain experience, he is surrounded by great players like Irving, Hayward and Al Horford from whom he is getting the exposure and the learning. His humility can be seen as he is willing to come off the bench, now that Hayward is back and healthy.
Boston Celtics are unarguably one of the favorites in the East. Now that their roster is healthy and their young guns have the experience of standing to the occasion, they will be on a hunt to conquer whatever comes in their way.
As the season progresses, all eyes will be on them as they look to claim the 18th title for the Celtics franchise. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum will try and get close to the greatness of his idol, make his mark, prove his mettle; for he has to live up to the expectations of being called the "Next Mamba".