In a livestream with Agent 00, Celtics star Jayson Tatum picked his favorite NBA opponents. Hilariously, his answer was a group called the “old heads,” which includes LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry.
Agent: “Who’s your favorite athlete to compete against?”
Jayson Tatum: “Probably all the old heads, like Steph, KD, and LeBron [James]. They’re gonna retire relatively soon, we all grew up watching them play. So you cherish those last matchups while you still got them.”
Jayson Tatum was among the leading All-Star vote-getters in the East and his status as one of the league’s premier players has never been clearer. As a champion with multiple playoff runs under his belt, Tatum has faced plenty of NBA greats including younger and older superstars.
So when Agent asked about his favorite opponent, he probably imagined that Tatum would pick someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Luka Doncic. Instead, Tatum named the OGs as a sign of respect.
As a student of the game and a fan of the league for years, Tatum grew up watching legends like LeBron and Curry only to later face them on a team of his own.
In the case of LeBron James, Tatum has had several battles with him over the years (regular season and playoffs) — especially during the King’s second run in Cleveland from 2015 to 2018. The only playoff series was in the 2017-18 campaign when rookie Tatum pushed LeBron to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Tatum has a special history with Steph Curry seeing as the two battled in the biggest stage of all: the NBA Finals. It was the Celtics’ first time since 2008 being that far in the postseason but not even Tatum could finish the job against Curry and the red-hot Warriors. Jayson lost that series in six games thanks to amazing heroics from No. 30, who averaged 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists.
Finally, there’s Kevin Durant. It’s no secret that Tatum has a close connection to the Suns star given that they’ve known each other since Jayson was in High School. Since Kevin is in the West, he doesn’t face the Celtics very often but things were different when he still played for the Nets (2019-2023).
Durant has more championships and an MVP but Jayson has won more matchups in the regular season (6-4) and the playoffs (5-4).
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games were the first time that Tatum got to be teammates with Durant, LeBron, and Curry and it’s an experience he will never forget. He saw a different side to their game and gained intricate knowledge of their routines and habits.
With averages of 27.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game this season, some of that greatness has surely rubbed off on Jayson Tatum who is trying to lead the Celtics to a second straight championship.
Currently, with the NBA’s most recognizable names now in the twilight of their careers, the time is now for Tatum to step up and fill their shoes. As someone who used to watch those legends, the Celtics star has immense respect for the “oldheads” but now it’s his turn to make basketball history.
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