SUMMARY
- When Jason Tatum was drafted by the Boston Celtics as the 3rd overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, he initially wore the jersey #0.
- Gilbert Arenas, a Washington Wizards legend known for wearing the #0 jersey, has been highly appreciative of Jason Tatum's talent.
Jason Tatum is easily one of the best 2-way players in the NBA at the moment. Within seven years of having been drafted by the Boston Celtics, Tatum has made the Eastern Conference four times and the NBA Championship finals once. Tatum has averaged 22 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds in his career, and has made four All-Star Game appearances and has been named the Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP once.
When the Boston Celtics drafted him 3rd overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, Tatum went on to don the Celtics jersey #0. Tatum didn’t always wear this iconic number. He revealed in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter): “Was 22 in high-school… got to duke Jay Williams wouldn’t let me wear 22 lol…. so I chose 0 cause Gilbert A was one of my favorite players and stuck with it.” Great troubleshooting from the Celtics talisman.
Why number 0?
— Tass (@FaZeTass) March 26, 2020
Gilbert Arenas is an interesting character. The Washington Wizards legend donned the #0 jersey and earned the nickname ‘Agent 0‘ for his ability to perform in the clutch. He was also notorious for his off-field antics.
Arenas once picked up a suspension for pulling a gun on his teammate in the locker room. Arenas remains one of the most enigmatic NBA talents who did not pick up enough hardware to command the validation they deserve.
Gilbert Arenas claims Jayson Tatum could be on the path to reach Kobe Bryant’s level
The love has not gone unreciprocated. ‘No-Chill Gil‘ has been very appreciative of Tatum’s talent over the years. He even went as far as to compare the Celtics star to Kobe Bryant once saying “Two or three years from now you’re going to see a player who’s dominating this game on a Kobe level. Because he possesses you know, all those intangibles that’s going to make him compared to that guy (Kobe).” Arenas had his reasons, too.
The Wizards legend went on to explain, “Kobe was great at everything. Mid-range. getting to a spot. And that’s what Jayson Tatum’s finding out he’s great at too. Getting to his spot no matter what the defense is giving you you’re going to your destination and when you get there you rise up and you hit the shot.” Tatum has proved him right since then. He has been an excellent 3-level scorer throughout his career.
Jason Tatum, like Gilbert Arenas, has had a brilliant career apart from the fact that he has not won an NBA Championship. Arenas was prone to attracting controversy and was criticized for his lack of discipline. Tatum has shown neither of those undesirable qualities. What he has shown is the ability to rise up when his team needs him. Only time will tell if Tatum can perform up to his idol’s expectations.