Jayson Tatum is the Boston Celtics' most important player, but he had some purple and gold on him for Game 7 against the Miami Heat.
JT rocked a Los Angeles Lakers armband with his idol Kobe Bryant's number 24 sown on it. If that's not a Game 7 motivator for someone who idolized and patterned his game after the Mamba, it's hard to figure what is.
Jayson Tatum rocking the purple Kobe Bryant No. 24 band on his arm for game 7 🐍 pic.twitter.com/fAcgbDeBjQ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 30, 2022
Given the circumstance and the Lakers icon he's honoring, surely Celtics fans would forgive him for wearing the forbidden colors for at least one game. A handful of them even took the move as a sign that Jayson Tatum wasn't going to let Boston lose.
Tatum wearing the Kobe armband? This one’s even more over
— Mike Ryan (Ruiz) 🙌🏽 (@MichaelRyanRuiz) May 30, 2022




Tatum is wearing the Kobe band, it’s over ☘️☘️
— Nicole ☘️ (@Nicoliolieeee) May 30, 2022
It's a fitting tribute given that Tatum had just joined Kobe Bryant as the top 2 youngest players to ever reach the 1,500 playoff point plateau. Both the Lakers and Celtics made the playoffs in each of the players' first five seasons, eight for the Lakers legend to be exact, which largely helped them get to that number.
Jayson Tatum is the 2nd youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,500 playoff points.
Only his idol Kobe Bryant was younger. pic.twitter.com/UJg5nH8Vvn
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 26, 2022
Jayson Tatum and the Celtics are one win away from the NBA Finals. If JT truly wants to emulate his idol, he'll do everything in his power and more to get them over the hump and win his own ring.