Like many young basketball fans who grew up in the 90’s and early 2000’s, Jayson Tatum idolized Kobe Bryant. Soon after being drafted by the Celtics with the third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Tatum was fortunate enough to meet his hero and even begin to develop a relationship with him.
Bryant could see the potential in the Celtics rookie and the two became close before the tragic helicopter accident that took Kobe’s life back in 2020. They had worked out together on several occasions, and Bryant had featured Tatum in one of his episodes of “Detail”, where he would break down game film of Tatum and offer his advice and his unique point of view.
During Boston’s run to the NBA Finals this season, the Celtics star has paid tribute to Kobe on several occasions. Prior to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, Tatum texted the late great Kobe with the simple message of, “I got you today.”
And during the game, which the Celtics won to advance to the NBA Finals, Tatum wore a purple arm band with a gold “24” on it.
As for his latest homage to Bryant, that came over the weekend, when Tatum replicated the outfit Kobe wore while attending a pre draft workout for the Celtics back in 1996.
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The Celtics earned a split in the first two games on the road in the Finals against the Warriors. They will now head back to Boston for the next two games and are just three wins shy of their first Championship since 2010. .
