SUMMARY
- Jayson Tatum recently talked about why Kobe Bryant is the greatest of all-time and shared why he was drawn to him despite being far away.
- Growing up, Tatum wanted to be Bryant but his mother told him to dream to be better than Bryant - something that didn't make sense to him.
Jayson Tatum has made a name for himself in the basketball world and is widely regarded among the best talents of the NBA in this era. Every player in the league had someone or another from whom they drew inspiration when they were young. For Tatum, it was none other than Kobe Bryant and he recently revealed one reason that drew him to Black Mamba despite being over 2,000 miles away from him.
During NBA on TNT’s Postgame Show, the co-host Adam Lefkoe asked Tatum to present his best argument on why Bryant is an all-time greatest player. To this, the Boston Celtics star responded by saying, “For me, this is an inspiration thing. The way he inspired somebody that was 2,000 miles away that I had never met.” He continued to talk about watching Bryant’s on TV, his interviews, how hard he worked, etc.
“The way he inspired somebody that was 2,000 miles away that I had never met. Just watching him on TV, watching his interviews, watching how hard he worked.”@JayTatum0 on drawing inspiration from Kobe ♥️ pic.twitter.com/zTxMP1nXbb
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 27, 2024
Furthermore, he revealed the one reason that drew him to Bryant was that he saw himself in him. The young athlete said, “From 2,000 miles away, me seeing myself in him and wanting to achieve my dream and chase my goal, work as hard as I could because he did those things.” Additionally, he emphasized that it’s not like the other best players didn’t work as an inspiration factor for him, but Bryant is the biggest reason why Tatum is here.
Jayson Tatum is the biggest fan of Kobe Bryant
Before asking Jayson Tatum to present his argument on why Kobe Bryant is the greatest of all time, Adam Lefkoe called him the biggest fan of Bryant that exists. This statement is something anyone who has seen even one of Tatum’s interviews would agree with. He has been an outspoken fan of Bryant ever since he started playing basketball.
Interestingly, Tatum once heard Bryant’s speech when he spoke at a camp which inspired him to not have any plan B but rather put all focus into the initial plan. This story proved Bryant’s brilliance and fans were left inspired when the Celtics star shared this story. Furthermore, growing up, Tatum wanted to be Bryant but his mother told him to dream to be better than Bryant – something that didn’t make sense to Tatum.
Jayson Tatum regrets not calling Kobe Bryant more
This year, 2024, marks the fourth death anniversary of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gigi Bryant, and seven others who lost their life in the tragic helicopter crash. Reflecting upon the darkest day of the NBA, Jayson Tatum revealed his bittersweet feeling as he said, “I can’t believe that he’s not here anymore.” In addition to this, he revealed the biggest regret that he holds on to this day.
Jayson Tatum has scored the 3rd most playoff points in history under the age of 25.
The only 2 players who have scored more playoff points by their 25th birthday are Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Both of them had an extra season to operate as they went straight from high school… pic.twitter.com/bM4yvqUm5f
— ☘︎ (@CelticsRepublic) August 18, 2023
“And the thing that I regret is I wish I would’ve called him more. I wish I would’ve texted him more,” the 2016 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year said. Furthermore, he revealed that despite Bryant telling him to call whenever he wanted to, he did call often as Tatum thought that the Lakers star would be busy and have things to look after. He has changed this and reaches out to older guys in the league often.