The Boston Celtics landed a key pillar for their franchise in Jayson Tatum during the 2017 NBA Draft. Looking back on that momentous event, the one-time NBA champion forward revealed the person who urged him to look into joining the historic franchise.
Tatum decided to go pro following an impressive freshman season at Duke University. On Jeff Teague’s “Club 520” podcast, the Celtics forward admitted that he wanted to play for the Los Angeles Lakers to follow the footsteps of his idol, the late Kobe Bryant. The Lakers had the second pick that year, but they didn’t show any interest in picking Tatum.
“I never worked out for the Lakers,” Tatum said. “They never came to watch me work out.”
Jayson Tatum says the Lakers had zero interest in drafting him
“They never came to watch me work out.”
(🎥 @club520podcast / h/t @wellssssssssss ) pic.twitter.com/f9zVorDbLw
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 4, 2024
The Celtics, with the third pick, became a possible landing spot for Tatum, who wasn’t that interested in going there. However, his Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski convinced him to work out with them for the second time.
“I remember Coach K was like, ‘Yo, Boston want to have you for a second workout, you should go.’ He was raving about Brad Stevens. He was like Brad is one of the best coaches in the league,” Tatum recalled. “I had another workout and, you know, the rest is history.”
Jayson Tatum has emerged as one of the NBA’s top young stars since being drafted by Boston, especially last season when he helped the franchise claim its 18th NBA title.
Jayson Tatum admitted wanting to play for the Phoenix Suns
When he was passed by the LA Lakers in the 2017 NBA Draft, Jayson Tatum admitted wanting to be selected by the Phoenix Suns, but in the end landed with the Boston Celtics. While speaking with Jeff Teague on his podcast, he talked about Phoenix being his top destination.
At the time, Tatum had his doubts about his place in the Celtics roster due to it being loaded with star and veteran talent. He didn’t see himself having much play time with the team at the time. He thought that Phoenix would have given him the opportunity to play a key role within the franchise.
“I wanted to go to Phoenix,” Tatum said. “Earl Watson was the coach, I went out there, I was looking out [for] houses, the weather was nice. They had a young team. I was like, “Man I’m going to get to play.’”
But instead, the Suns ended up picking Josh Jackson as their fourth pick, but it didn’t really turn out well for him in the NBA. In his five seasons in the league, he never really found a long-term home. Jackson signed with the Stockton Kings in the G League in 2023, but was waived four days later.
Jayson Tatum in Phoenix would have been an interesting “what-if.” He would have teamed up with Devin Booker, who was turning out to be a key player with the Suns.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
