While the duo may be enemies on the court, there’s no denying that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum have a deep respect for each other’s game.
And after the latter’s mid-game offensive eruption against the Lakers Sunday afternoon, that respect came to the fore, when James made a point of acknowledging the nascent superstardom of his opponent in the Celtics’ 114-112 loss.
LeBron put up an Instagram post after the contest showing the pair leaning against the scorer’s table, both sporting a single sleeve on each leg and in a near-identical pose.
James declared the Duke product to be “an absolute problem” in all capital letters after the image, followed by an admonishment to “keep going” and the hashtags “#YoungKing” and “#OnelegSleeveGang”.
While it might not have been enough to deliver the win Sunday, it got the attention of pretty much every NBA fan that Boston — and specifically, Tatum — were nearly able to wrest the win away from LeBron and his Lakers even without starting point guard Kemba Walker.
“The kid is special,” noted James after the game (via Boston team reporter Marc D’Amico). “Obviously that’s a reason he’s a first-time All-Star, and he’s been special all year.”
His own teammates were equally impressed, such as Jaylen Brown, who said, “Tatum has reached a new height, man … superstar level.”
Teammate Gordon Hayward agreed, and was excited for the cover it gives his other teammates to operate under.
“They’re trying to take the ball out of someone’s hands, so they’re leaving somebody open … We have a lot of weapons, so we should take advantage of that.”
Though Boston ultimately came up short, that they have seen Tatum take such a big step forward against the NBA’s elite in recent weeks has been a hugely important development for the Celtics’ future.
The days of flying under the radar may be gone now, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the St.Louis native is more than ready for the challenge.
At just 21 years old, the question of whether Tatum will become a superstar in the league seems settled; now fans and opponents are probing to find out just how high his ceiling will be — and whether he’ll be able to be contained.
