The moments that Jayson Tatum will remember most during his rookie campaign

The moments that Jayson Tatum will remember most during his rookie campaign.

Jayson Tatum is a key component of the Boston Celtics’ future after finishing with an incredible debut season as the third overall choice in the 2017 NBA draft.

That might have been difficult for a younger Jayson Tatum to understand.

Tatum recently said, “I used to hate Boston,” on The Ringer’s The Bill Simmons Podcast.

His logic? He admired the Black Mamba greatly.

No, Kobe was my favorite player,” Tatum remarked. “Even earlier, when I was about 4 or 5, I would just always tell my mom what I wanted to be when I grew up. And all I could think was, “I want to be Kobe.” “You want to be in the NBA?” she would ask. “No, like, I wanna be Kobe.” I simply loved him as a player. I owned all of his jerseys and posters. That was my man.

Fans of the Celtics might find it difficult to believe that their budding star once detested Boston and grew up looking up to a Laker. But it’s crucial to keep in mind that throughout Tatum’s early years, Bryant was among the best players in the game.

The 20-year-old was only getting started when he was born in March 1998, close to the conclusion of the Mamba’s second NBA season. In the process, he would win an NBA MVP award, five championships, two Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, and four All-Star Game MVP honors in 18 choices (despite losing the first round to Boston).

Fans of the Celtics might find it difficult to believe that their budding star once detested Boston and grew up looking up to a Laker. But it’s crucial to keep in mind that throughout Tatum’s early years, Bryant was among the best players in the game.

The 20-year-old was only getting started when he was born in March 1998, close to the conclusion of the Mamba’s second NBA season. In the process, he would win an NBA MVP award, five championships, two Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, and four All-Star Game MVP honors in 18 choices (despite losing the first round to Boston).

After 20 seasons with the Lakers, he would announce his retirement, with 33,643 career points ranking third on the league’s all-time scoring list.

Since even the most ardent Celtics supporters can agree that Bryant’s career was exceptional, it’s understandable why Tatum, a young player, aspired to be the next Kobe.

There was nothing better for a devoted Kobe fan than to hear the Mamba himself assess his game:

Tatum said, “Yeah, I watched it like seventy times.” “That was my favorite player ever.”