Jayson Tatum and LeBron James are teammates on Team USA, so it was the perfect time for the Boston Celtics star to bring up a memory with his childhood idol.
The USA Basketball social team reminded Tatum of the time James blew him off when he asked for an autograph. This was when James played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and it was a story Tatum told in the past while autographing basketballs.
“He ain’t tell me no, but he kinda told me no,” Tatum said, per NBA video. “In Memphis a long time ago, Larry Hughes is my dad’s best friend. They played on the Cavs together. My mom took me to a game in Memphis. I wanted to meet LeBron, and I wanted to get a picture with him and an autograph. And there was a lot of people back there, and he was like, ‘I’m out. I gotta go.’ And I got in the car started crying. But we cool now.”
The story was relayed to Tatum and James before Team USA practice, and it elicited memories of the Celtics star’s poster dunk in the 2018 Eastern Conference finals.
“He asked me for an autograph, and I ain’t give it to him?” James said. “When was that?”
“I was like 11,” Tatum said.
“That’s why you dunked on me, though?” James asked. “That’s why you dunked on me in the conference finals?”
“It’s the get-back,” Tatum replied.
“And by the way, that’s when you had that haircut,” James said. “That’s the last time you had that haircut.
It was a surprise for Boston fans to see more context from the iconic playoff moment. It also highlighted how young Tatum is and how seasoned James is for them to go from a snubbed autograph session to Olympic teammates.
