Jayson Tatum recently revealed details regarding a hilarious interaction he had with LeBron James many years ago. As the majority of NBA fans should be aware, Tatum and the Celtics managed to get over the hump this season and win the 2024 NBA championship. JT, LeBron, and several other NBA stars are currently representing Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics together.
As a result, there have been several interactions between the stars on the rosters such as Tatum and LeBron. One such interaction was caught on video and revealed an interesting backstory between the two NBA stars. With that being said, let us take a closer look and find out more.
LeBron James did not sign an autograph for Jayson Tatum
Some might struggle to comprehend how many years LeBron James has played in the league. There have been multiple current stars who grew up watching LeBron dominate. Tatum was one such player and was recently interviewed that he once tried to get King James’ autograph more than a decade ago.
“He ain’t told me no. But he kinda told me no. In Memphis, a long time ago, Larry Hughes was my dad’s best friend. They played on the Cavs together. 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 and there was like a lot of people back there. So he was like I’m out. I gotta go. And I remember I got in the car and started crying. But we cool now”
JT got his revenge on LeBron 😂 #USABMNT pic.twitter.com/9shcJ87uaM
— NBA (@NBA) July 16, 2024
Upon hearing that Tatum had such a backstory that he had kept hidden from LeBron, the Lakers star claimed that his refusal to sign an autograph for Tatum was the reason that he got dunked on during the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron has also discussed Tatum’s career so far in the past during moments from his podcast with JJ Redick.
LeBron James and JJ Redick laud Jayson Tatum’s basketball IQ
Even before winning an NBA championship, Tatum and the Boston Celtics were a subject of discussion. After all, no other team had made so many deep runs into the postseason but failed to win a championship. LeBron kept this in mind when discussing Tatum with JJ Redick.
“He’s 25 years old and I believe he’s been to the Conference Finals 4 times. Been to obviously the NBA Finals once. He’s 25, I mean I didn’t win my first one till I was 28. I think Joker won his first one at 27. I think MJ was 28 as well. So like I think we have a lot of expectations on JT since he’s experienced a lot of winning in his career so far.”
Given that Tatum ended up winning the NBA title after LeBron’s words, the expectations that have been placed on him have only increased heading into next season. Fans are left wondering whether the Celtics will be able to defend their title.