LeBron James is obviously the biggest key for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, and the man who could play the most significant role for the Boston Celtics is 13 years his junior. That would be Jayson Tatum, and the 20-year-old rookie has quite the entertaining history with LeBron.
Like many NBA players, Tatum grew up playing AAU ball with some of the best young players in the country. His father, Justin Tatum, was high school teammates with former NBA guard Larry Hughes, who happens to be Jayson’s godfather. Because of that connection, the first time Tatum squared off against LeBron on the court was when he was about 10 years old.
In an interview with Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports, Justin Tatum revealed that Jayson played LeBron in a friendly game of 1-on-1 during the Cavs’ first NBA Finals run in 2007. Since then, Justin has always stressed to his son the importance of not being intimidated.
“He knows from me, my thing is, they’re just men. You know how to play. Find a way to enjoy the game and … just don’t ever be afraid,” Justin Tatum said. “He carried that through his whole career and it’s going to keep enhancing as he gets older and better. Right now, I just love to see him be confident. This doesn’t intimidate him or frighten him.”
Perhaps LeBron didn’t remember who Tatum was, because the Celtics star had to ask King James to follow him on Twitter about five years later. Tatum mentioned his connection to Hughes in a hilarious tweet that resurfaced this week.
@KingJames Follow back it's Larry Hughes nephew from st. Louis and Abe and Rj Lil cousin and Justin Son Follow Back pic.twitter.com/AnOnb7E8
— Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0) April 13, 2012
Tatum could very well be the future of the NBA, and some of the game’s biggest legends have already been taking note of the things he is doing on the court. You can bet LeBron has, too.
