The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers are set to do battle in the Eastern Conference Finals, as most hoops fans know. While there are several interesting points of discussion with regards to the matchup, there is also one story line that might be a bit surprising to some.
As it turns out, Jayson Tatum and LeBron James share a bond that dates back to Cleveland's Finals run in 2007. Jayson's father, Justin Tatum, was high school teammates with former NBA guard Larry Hughes, who played for the Cavs, as most fans of the team will remember. You might not know this, but Hughes is Jayson’s godfather. That connection led Jayson to a friendly one-on-one game with LeBron James years ago.
Justin recently sat down for an interview with Michael Lee of Yahoo! Sports to recant his son's first game against LeBron — albeit at 10 years old. Amid the discussion, Justin noted that he has always stressed to his son the importance of not being intimidated.
“He knows from me, my thing is, they’re just men. You know how to play. Find a way to enjoy the game and … just don’t ever be afraid,” Justin Tatum said. “He carried that through his whole career and it’s going to keep enhancing as he gets older and better. Right now, I just love to see him be confident. This doesn’t intimidate him or frighten him.”
Earlier this week, an old picture of James and Jayson resurfaced. It seems Jayson was still trying to get a follow back from LeBron at that time (2012).
@KingJames Follow back it's Larry Hughes nephew from st. Louis and Abe and Rj Lil cousin and Justin Son Follow Back pic.twitter.com/AnOnb7E8
— Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0) April 13, 2012
Sunday's Game 1 tilt is set to tip inside TD Garden at 3:30 p.m. EST with ABC having live broadcast coverage.
Follow Us
Subscribe