Celtics star Jayson Tatum had another throwback moment this week and it caught a lot of attention this week when he shared it on his Instagram story. The subject was a list of Tatum’s childhood goals and outlined his dreams/ambitions for 20 years in the future, including playing for the Lakers and Suns.
“Twenty years from now I will have gone to one year at Ohio State University where I will have met Kristen. We will have gotten married and have two children, a boy and a girl,” wrote the young Tatum. “We will have a big house in Phoenix, Arizona. I will play for the Suns for six years then I will be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Get traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. I will play basketball for a living as if it will be my dream come true.”
Jayson Tatum wrote this in 4th grade and it’s actually incredible pic.twitter.com/mO3m7xU46m
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) July 17, 2024
As Tatum outlined in the caption, it was a grade-school assignment he wrote in the fourth grade to picture his life in 20 years. With the confidence of a legend, Tatum was bold with his dream and proudly stated his ambitions to join the best teams in the NBA.
While Tatum, 6’8′”, wanted to graduate to go to school at Ohio State, he was a star on the court at Duke University with 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. His long frame and versatile offensive skills allured any NBA teams and the Celtics couldn’t help but take him No 3.
It’s not for lack of trying that the Suns didn’t land Tatum after all of these years. Somehow, he’s one of the few superstars who has avoided their grasp despite his heavy connections there from his youth. The 5x All-Star would have easily put the Suns over the top as a championship team assuming he’d be teammates with the former 15th overall pick, Devin Booker.
The Lakers also had their chance for Tatum, including in the 2017 NBA draft when the Lakers could have picked him with the 2nd overall pick. After Markelle Flultz was granted of honor of going first, the Lakers could have picked Tatum to help revive their struggling franchise.
They picked Lonzo Ball, instead, who went off early on but failed to step up when the Lakers needed him the most. Meanwhile, Tatum continually led or co-led the Celtics to deep playoff runs year after year and established a new culture of winners en route to his first championship.
After agreeing to the richest contract in league history worth five years, $315 million, Tatum has already tied his NBA future to the Celtics and I’m sure his family has grown accustomed to the greater Boston area. Plus, as the 2024 NBA champions, the Celtics are sitting at the maximum high right now and there’s no way Tatum would disrupt that now.
Sadly, the photo could be taken as yet another reminder of the shortcomings of the Suns, but especially the Lakers for ruining so many changes to turn around their franchise.
Today, at 26, it’s fair to say that the “4th grade” Tatum would be proud of what he’d become. While maybe not exact on the details, Tatum has become one of the best players in the game and he’s having all the perks he could possibly want as a leading face of the modern NBA.
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