Boston Celtics rising star Jayson Tatum got to check off one of the goals from his bucket list, working out with Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant during the summer.
Bryant, a 20-year veteran of the league, said he was very impressed with Tatum's innate ability to mimic his movements and footwork, something he had worked on over the years with his lifelong trainer Drew Hanlen.
Yet, stepping into the same court as his favorite player and going through reps with him one-on-one was an experience the St. Louis native won't soon forget.
“That was a dream come true,” said Tatum, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “Him always being my favorite player, and getting an opportunity to chat with him and just get in the gym with him, it was a surreal moment.”
“Yeah it was crazy, just being in that moment and being in the same gym with him and him teaching me things. I really couldn’t believe it.”
The 20-year-old got a chance to pick Bryant's game a little more, learning the route he took on his way to becoming such a dominant force in the league.
“Really just getting into his mindset, how he thought as a player and as a young player, just trying to get better and better each year in the league,” added Tatum. “[We talked about] what he did to make those things happen and how he was so successful.”
As his new ESPN+ show describes, Bryant is a Detail type of person, and Tatum saw that first-hand, following the five-time champion's lead on moves he was already somewhat familiar mimicking.
“We just talked about those minor few [footwork] things while we were working out,” said Tatum. “We did a lot of post moves and things like that, so I had a pretty good feel for everything he showed me, just maybe a few changes here and there.”
Tatum has the potential to be one of the scoring leaders in the NBA as his game develops, but taking tips from a two-time scoring champion only bodes well for a player boasting a deep arsenal of moves to give the league nightmares for a really long time.
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