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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Justin Quinn

Boston star Jayson Tatum on his 15-year journey to the NBA

Star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum recently was the guest on the premier episode of Kevin Hart‘s ninth season of his “Cold As Balls” show, and the pair got into Tatum’s background playing the sport among several other topics discussed on the season debut.

Tatum took us on a journey through his basketball career, starting as a young prospect with big dreams and eventually achieving his goal of becoming a star in the league. The St. Louis native opened up about his experience at the 2017 NBA draft and spoke about the hard work and dedication he invested to reach where he is today.

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“Getting drafted was the best day of my life,” he explained.

“I started playing basketball when I was three, four years old,” continued Tatum, ” and I got drafted when I was 19. I worked on something for 15 years until my dream came true.”

“After my freshman year of high school, I’m like ‘The NBA is within arm’s reach.’ (I was) 14, playing with guys (who were) 17, 18 and I was dominating … I had scholarship offers from every school in the country, humbly.”

Tatum also spilled the beans on how his precocious basketball skills and pedigree came back to haunt him later after he’d made the league.

“When I first got my Twitter, I was like 13. My dad’s best friend was Larry Hughes, and I tweeted Lebron (James) to follow me, and I was name-dropping that I was Larry Hughes’ godson, and when we played (the Cleveland Cavaliers), you know how things resurface.”

“It was a big deal,” he added, likely thinking back to the Celtics’ 4-3 loss to the Cavs.

Check out the interview in full for yourself in the full interview from the new season of “Cold As Balls.”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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