Tatum’s Dad: Kobe Will Push Him Higher Still

As you probably know if you hang out here, Jayson Tatum recently worked out with his idol Kobe Bryant.

Jayson’s dad, Justin, says that it’s just fuel for his fire:

“We had over an hour, hour-and-a-half conversation [after the workout]. He was like a kid in the candy store. It was like he was 20 years old going back to 12, or even 9.

“It was just good to hear your son on the other end meet his idol, talk to his idol, and hear his idol say a lot of good things about him. It just gives him more drive. That’s just more fuel to a kid that’s already ready to go. It was a blessing to hear how happy he was.”

This is going to be an interesting year for the Celtics. After his younger players broke out this past spring, C’s coach Brad Stevens is going to have a different challenge: getting talented players to defer to other talented players.

He says he’s not worried but it wouldn’t be the first NBA team to blow up when guys knew they could be getting starter minutes elsewhere.

Then again, this team has a chance to make the NBA finals for years to come. You’d have to be a little off not to want to be part of that.

On a different note, we would have loved it if Boston patriarch Red Auerbach could have seen what happened to this franchise and just what he would say about Stevens. That would be fascinating.