Jayson Tatum’s childhood aspirations to someday be like Kobe Bryant made the pre-2017 NBA draft process almost heartbreaking for the 26-year-old.
Tatum was 19 years old at the time and fresh out of Duke, considering all avenues once the ping-pong balls granted the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns the first, second, third and fourth picks, respectively. To Tatum’s recollection, the Lakers — his dream team — expressed no interest in drafting him.
Magic Johnson, the organization’s president of basketball operations at the time, rejects Tatum’s telling of events.
“No, we took a look at him,” Johnson told SiriusXM NBA Radio on Monday. “… We were top heavy in forwards. I couldn’t take him. Because we had Brandon Ingram, who was only in his second year. Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr. So I already had too many forwards. There was already problems because they all wanted to play. So if I took another forward, we would’ve never seen this Tatum because he would’ve been sitting on that bench because we already had Julius and Brandon Ingram starting.”
Johnson added: “His agent also didn’t want us to work him out because he didn’t want him to end up on the Lakers because we’re already top heavy with the forwards.”
The Lakers were on the clock after Philadelphia drafted Markelle Fultz first overall and passed on Tatum, electing to choose Lonzo Ball instead. Ball, a California native and UCLA product underwent a media tour alongside his marketing-genius father, Lavar Ball, who publicly ensured that Los Angeles would draft Ball when the time came.
That vision came to life seven years ago, leaving a bitter taste in Tatum’s mouth.
“For me, I grew up a Kobe fan. Like, I always wanted to play for the Lakers,” Tatum said on the “Club 520” podcast in November. “So for them to have the No. 2 pick and it was like it wasn’t even a thought that I was going to get drafted, that was kind of devastating so I never worked out for the Lakers. They never came to watch me work out.”
Tatum never joined forces with LeBron James on the West Coast but destiny favored the five-time All-Star. The Celtics handed Tatum the keys — and a record-large $315 million contract extension this past offseason — to the franchise, rebuilt the supporting cast by swinging trades for Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday and rose Banner 18 in the 2024 NBA Finals. Not too shabby.
It’s only been eight seasons in the league so far and Tatum’s already cemented a convincing legacy as one of the all-time Celtics greats, with still plenty of time for more.
