Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum loves to honor the all-time greats before him, regardless of the sport. Following the Celtics' 111-89 demolition of the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 of the East semis on Monday, Tatum addressed why he opted to have an image of the recently deceased Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals on his sneakers.
The MLB Hall of Famer is considered as one of the best left fielders in baseball. He played in St. Louis (Jayson Tatum's hometown) from 1964 through 1979.
Although Jayson Tatum wasn't even born yet during Brock's playing days, the 22-year-old swingman bared his admiration for the two-time World Series Champion.
“One of the best players ever in MLB. I’m 22, so I never got to see him play but I know what he means to that (Cardinals) organization. I just wanted to shed some light on that to all the people back home (in St. Louis),” Tatum described Brock, per Ben Golliver of the Washington Post.
Jayson Tatum knows that Lou Brock was named an MLB All-Star six times during his illustrious 18-year pro-career. His career stats include a batting average of .293, 3,023 hits, 149 home runs, and 938 stolen bases.
He retired in 1979 with a .959 career fielding percentage.
Following a lengthy battle with multiple myeloma, Brock passed away on September 6. He was 81.
Jayson Tatum, on the other hand, certainly gave Brock a fitting tribute after that impressive performance in Game 5. The Duke alum tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block in 36 minutes of action.
Jayson Tatum did struggle a bit shooting the ball, going 5-for-15 from the field and 1-of-5 form past the arc.
The 6-foot-8 winger, however, made several winning play that allowed the Cs complete the rout.
Jayson Tatum and the Celtics will look to close out the series in Game 6 on Wednesday.
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