The 2024 NBA All-Star Game was an especially special night for Jayson Tatum because he got a chance to meet Larry Bird for the first time.
Even though Tatum has played for the Celtics since he was drafted by the team back in 2017, the five-time All-Star forward apparently had never had a chance to meet perhaps the greatest player in franchise history.
Tatum was drafted by the Celtics nearly seven years ago. But on Saturday in Indiana, where Bird was born and raised, this was the first time that the two forwards ever crossed paths.
Larry Bird and Jayson Tatum! ☘️#NBAAllStar Game on TNT pic.twitter.com/yyvnhsiH6J
— NBA (@NBA) February 19, 2024
During a conversation with TNT’s Jamal Crawford, the NBA’s reigning All-Star Game MVP reflected on his interaction with Bird.
“I ain’t gonna lie. I met Larry Bird tonight for the first time. I never met Larry Bird in my life. So I got to meet him. I was anxious.”
Tatum added that he had “some juices flowing” for the game after that conversation.
Jayson Tatum just said he met Larry Bird for the first time tonight.
Tatum was drafted by the Celtics in 2017. pic.twitter.com/P8iJkwYcHA
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) February 19, 2024
Bird and Tatum are the only Boston players to ever record more than 25 games with at least 40 points, per StatMuse.
Tatum was, fittingly, the first player to ever win the Larry Bird Trophy awarded to the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals.
