Not unlike Paul Pierce, a Boston Celtics great who grew up idolizing the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant was a young Jayson Tatum‘s favorite player. Unlike Pierce, however, Tatum would later become a friend and mentee of the Los Angeles guard who made The Truth’s life hard in the NBA finals on more than one occasion.
It is not hard to see a bit of Bryant in the St. Louis native’s step-back daggers in the midrange, especially when Tatum clicks into takeover mode, his hyper-focused attack reminiscent of what Pierce had to try to contain during his and Kobe’s heyday.
But for former Bryant teammate Derek Fisher, other, more subtle elements of Kobe’s game have found their way into Tatum’s approach to the sport, which he shared with the Celtics Wire in a recent interview.
Jayson Tatum on belonging in Boston with the Celtics https://t.co/uLF0vtSrC0 pic.twitter.com/uV085JSw6I
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 6, 2023