Jayson Tatum is reuniting with an old college buddy in Boston.
Travis Branham of 247 Sports reports this week that Duke assistant coach Amile Jefferson is finalizing a deal to become an assistant for the Celtics. Jefferson will be serving on the staff of Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla.
The 30-year-old Jefferson is a Blue Devils alum who played for them from 2012-17 (redshirting one year because of injury). He was a Duke captain for three seasons, including during their 2015 NCAA title win. After brief stints in the NBA G League and overseas, Jefferson returned to Duke in 2021 as a Director of Player Development before being promoted to an assistant under coach Jon Scheyer in 2022.
During his lone college season in 2016-17, the Celtics star Tatum played with Jefferson, starting next to him in the frontcourt. While Duke failed to make it beyond the Round of 32 that year, Tatum and Jefferson will be hoping for more success together this time around (especially with Boston just making a major addition).
