"I got in the car and started crying" - Jayson Tatum recalls LeBron James snubbing request for an autograph when he was a kid
While Jayson Tatum and LeBron James may be competing alongside one another on Team USA this summer, there was a time when Tatum had his heart broken by the future Hall of Famer. On Tuesday morning, after Team USA picked up a win over Team Australia during the pre-Olympic International Friendlies, Tatum recalled a time James made him cry.
As he explained, when he was a kid, his dad's best friend, Larry Hughes, played for the Cavaliers alongside LeBron James. After a game, where Jayson Tatum and his mom were in attendance, the future Celtics star wanted to get an autograph and a picture with LeBron James.
While James didn't outright tell him no, Tatum revealed that LeBron shot down his request, which led to Tatum crying in the car that same night. The reigning NBA champ told the story in a video shared by @NBA on X, formerly known as Twitter. From the sounds of things, LeBron James had never heard the story:
"My mom took me to a game in Memphis, I wanted to meet LeBron, and I wanted to get a picture with him and an autograph. There were a lot of people back there, and he was like, ‘I’m out, I gotta go.’ And I got in the car and started crying.”
As James jokes at the end of the video, the snub may have been the reason that Tatum threw down a monstrous dunk on him in the Conference Finals years back.
Looking at Team USA's recent game with Australia, and how LeBron James & Jayson Tatum helped lead the team to a win
On Monday, Team USA and Team Australia collided for a pre-Olympic International Friendly. Team USA was able to pick up their second straight win after a victory over Team Canada in their first warmup game.
In Monday's game, Team USA jumped out to an early lead, however late in the game it was Team Australia who began to make a strong comeback push. Despite that, with big games from several players, Team USA was able to hold on and secure a 98-92 win.
For his part, Jayson Tatum finished the game with seven points, four rebounds and five assists in 21 minutes while shooting 75% from the field. In addition, LeBron James finished the game with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists over 21 minutes played.
When it came to scoring, the team was led by Anthony Davis and Devin Booker off the bench, with AD leading all Team USA players in points with 17, and Booker right behind with 16.
The team was notably without Kevin Durant, who has been dealing with a calf strain sustained prior to the start of training camp.
While Steve Kerr has made it clear that he and his coaching staff haven't discussed a potential replacement player, with Olympic basketball set to begin on July 27, time may be running out for KD to get healthy.
In the event that he winds up being unable to represent his country, another one of Jayson Tatum's teammates, Jaylen Brown, could get the call to fill in.