Jayson Tatum had a different dream as he prepared for the 2017 NBA Draft, and it didn’t involve playing for the Boston Celtics.
He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his favorite player Kobe Bryant and wear purple and gold for the Los Angeles Lakers.
“For me, I grew up a Kobe fan, I always wanted to play for the Lakers,” Tatum said during an appearance on the “Club 520 Podcast” released Monday. “For them to have the No. 2 pick and it wasn’t even a thought that I was gonna get drafted, that was kind of devastating. I never worked out for the Lakers. They never came to watch me workout.”
Thankfully for the Celtics, Tatum was still available at No. 3, and the historic franchise made their selection, taking the Duke product off the board.
Everyone was happy, right?
Not exactly.
Tatum revealed to “Club 520” host Jeff Teague that he contacted his agent after the Celtics signed All-Star forward Gordon Hayward.
“I get drafted, Gordan Hayward signs with the Celtics. I call my agent like, ‘Yo, I gotta get traded,'” Tatum revealed. “I’m in Summer League before I ever play a game. (My agent’s) like, ‘Relax. Wait it out. You gotta chill.’ I’m like, ‘I’m trying to play.’ I didn’t get drafted to come off the bench and not start.”
The Celtics stars found themselves in the starting lineup together, but Hayward broke his leg five minutes in and missed the entire season.
Tatum wasted no time making a name for himself in the organization. That season, he and Jaylen Brown led the Celtics to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
