Jayson Tatum was a big Kobe Bryant fan, idolizing the Los Angeles Lakers legend growing up. He even hated the Boston Celtics because of the Black Mamba’s ties with the purple and gold.
After Kobe tragically passed last year in a helicopter crash, Tatum has paid homage to the player whenever he’s had the chance. More recently, he got a new piece of body art to honor Bryant.
He used two black mambas (referring to Kobe’s self-imposed nickname), forming No. 24, Bryant’s second career number. After Tatum shared a pic on his Instagram story, more photos saw the light, giving fans more details about this tattoo.
Jayson Tatum has a new 24 tattoo to honor Kobe 🙌
Mamba mentality.
(via @Samlimon_) pic.twitter.com/hMZ9KkhUXD
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 30, 2021
JT has been linked with Kobe before and after he made it to the NBA. Not only they trained together, but people like Gilbert Arenas believe Tatum will be the second coming of Bryant in the league.
KB24 was really high on Jayson, even asking why the Lakers didn’t pick the Duke product in the 2017 NBA draft. They spent some time together from 2017 through 2020, the year Kobe left this world.
Ever since that, the Boston Celtics forward has tried to make his idol proud with his performances on the court. JT is entering his prime, and Celtics fans must be excited to watch what’s next for their talented player.
