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
“He’s becoming unflappable,” said Fisher, “and that was a characteristic Kobe had — not many guys were able to have that. They would allow things to be able to throw them off, and they couldn’t find their way back.”
“Jayson’s had games and performances where it just looks like — you think about the playoff run last year — it just looked like he wasn’t going to be able to get it going that night, (like) the performance he put together in Philly after missing every shot he took. And then some of the shots that he made late in some of those playoff games like that, that’s something Kobe capable of doing where he could still will us to win without necessarily playing great himself because of just how cool and calm and relaxed he was, and how driven he was. It was infectious to the rest of us. Even when he wasn’t at his level, the rest of us were at higher levels than we would be without him.”
“I think Jayson has that ability, almost regardless of his individual performance, every team he plays on is going to be really freaking good because you feel like you’ve got the best player on the floor on your team,” he added. “It’s a small list of guys in that category.”
And even among Boston’s bitterest rivals, it’s become evident Tatum is on it — with, perhaps, some thanks to Kobe.
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