Celtics News: Jayson Tatum Talks About Lakers Legend Kobe Bryant And Adopting Mamba Mentality

Boston Celtics rising superstar Jayson Tatum is proud to say that his favorite NBA player came from his team’s mortal rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers. Ever since he was a child, the 20-year-old small forward admitted that he’s been trying to steal Kobe Bryant’s move.

In the recent offseason, Jayson Tatum was given the opportunity to have a workout with Kobe Bryant. In an interview with Boston Globe, Tatum revealed the thrill and excitement of playing together with the Lakers legend and called the event as “once in a lifetime experience.”

“That was really, really exciting for me because he’s always been my favorite player,” Tatum said. “I always looked up to him, so just to interact with him on a couple different occasions was really more than enough for me. The idea of him being willing to help me out and share his knowledge was a once in a lifetime experience.”

Jayson Tatum has definitely learned plenty of things from one of the greatest NBA players of all-time. Aside from replicating Bryant’s performance on the court, Tatum also wanted to adopt the Mamba mentality.

“I’m really just trying to get into his mindset, how he went about each year, from taking care of his body to getting better and better each year,” Tatum said. “Just studying the things that he would add to his overall game.”

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Jayson Tatum didn’t give any specific information about his workout with Kobe Bryant. But as of now, Tatum’s number one priority this offseason is building strength. Improving his physique will enable him to facilitate better ball control. It will also increase his chance of surviving the 82 regular season games without suffering major injuries.

After working out with him, Kobe Bryant became more aware of Tatum’s superstar potential. The NBA Hall of Famer even questioned why the Lakers didn’t use the No. 2 overall pick to acquire Tatum in the 2017 NBA Draft. With the things he is currently doing right now, there is no doubt that Tatum is taking the right path to becoming a superstar in the league. Successfully addressing the areas he needs to improve will make him more useful for the Celtics next season.

As of now, the Celtics are the favorite to fully dominate the LeBron James-less Eastern Conference in the upcoming 2018-19 NBA season. If Jayson Tatum and Boston’s young players mesh well with Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, it will not be a surprise if the Celtics become a huge threat to the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors next season.