, and Kemba Walker in 2016 (52).){kind=link}
Every now and then, someone with incredible talent arrives, whether as a musician, a painter, or an athlete. This is true of Jayson Tatum, the NBA elite player who is blazing a path in the league and can be found anywhere including casino news and the media reports on sports.
Tatum became the fourth player to add at least 50 points on Martin Luther King Day, following the same path as Damian Lillard in 2020 (61), Kemba Walker in 2016 (52), and Gilbert Arenas in 2007 (51).
It’s a milestone that joins another the 24-year-old achieved that night. He also surpassed Larry Bird as the player with the most games of +50 points in the history of the Boston Celtics. Before he turned 25, the age he turns in less than two months, only Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, and Rick Barry had reached that mark.
The Early Years
Born on March 3, 1998, the young star grew up in St Louis, Missouri, with his mother, Brandy Cole. She was just 19 when she had Tatum, but she ensured he was always missing as little as possible.
Cole never gave up on his dreams. He studied law in St Louis, played college volleyball, and what little free time he had was spent doing multiple part-time jobs, such as cell phone sales, insurance policies, and a job at a post office, among others.
Finding a way to survive, they continued to live at home. Jayson Tatum, inspired by all the effort his mother put in, began to apply it to form what he wanted to become: a professional basketball player.
Jayson’s father, Justin Tatum, wasn’t present for the first few years. However, he returned to his city and was fundamental in developing the forward as a player. He made him play against people much older than his son; even so, the younger Tatum stood out and shone in those games.
Making the most of his opportunities, Jayson Tatum closed his last season at Chaminade High School with an average of 29.6 points and 9.1 rebounds. As a result, as he was ranked third by ESPN among the best players in the country, he was in the eyes of all American universities.
However, he finally settled on Duke University. Here, he was trained for a year by Mike Krzyzewski, the emblematic coach of the institution who was part of it from 1980 until this year. Averaging 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds, Tatum declared for the draft as one of the best prospects that could enter the NBA.
The draft day arrived, and the Boston Celtics selected the St. Louis native with the third pick in the first round. Jayson Tatum came to the franchise and immediately made his mark. In a solid regular season coupled with an impressive postseason in which, the Celtics were one game away from reaching the finals since, in Game 7 of the conference finals that year, they lost against Lebron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.
Since then, he has only continued to improve. The four-time NBA All-Star is leading the Celtics with strong performances and, after last year’s conference title, a quest for an NBA Championship.
Living The Good Life
Jayson Tatum has had an interesting personal life and has been connected to more than one woman. He has a son from a relationship he was in as he finished at Duke, but his current girlfriend is British musical performer Ella Mai.
Jayson Tatum stands 6’8″ tall and weighs 205 pounds – fairly average for a basketball player. However, his talent on the court is definitely greater than average.
For the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft, there was speculation that Tatum could make a deal for as much as $12.34 million in two years and $27.11 million in four. He ultimately signed with the Celtics, which gave him $6.17 million a year on a two-year deal.
His status as an elite player has helped him land several important endorsements, including those he has with Air Jordan, Gatorade, and Subway. As a result, and because of a rookie max extension for $163 million in 2021, Jayson Tatum is now worth over $32.6 million.