The fallout between Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics in 2019 was pretty ugly, but that doesn’t mean the relationships between Irving and his former teammates went away. In a new interview with Shams Charania at The Athletic, young Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum explained the influence Irving has on him to this day.
“Ky is like my big brother,” Tatum told Charania. “We still talk to this day, and we’ve talked a few times this playoffs. He always encourages me to be special. Having that relationship with him and having somebody like him in my ear at a young age, it means a lot.”
As Tatum tells it, despite Irving ultimately choosing to leave Boston to join the Nets in free agency last summer, Irving still reached out to Tatum on his way out to let him know it was his time to lead the Celtics. That connection has lasted into 2020, as Tatum still receives feedback and support from Irving from afar.
The bond between the two is not the only topic Tatum opens up on. Tatum also details how gratifying it was to finally make an All-Star team this season and the confidence it gave him. Not surprisingly, Tatum vaulted up to 26.6 points per game post-All-Star break and improved his three-point shooting dramatically, filling out his game in a manner that could take the Celtics to another level.
Through it all, Tatum told Charania he also learned to do things — as a player and leader — his own way.
“You can steal from a lot of different guys — Ky, Kobe (Bryant) — but you have to do it your own way. I’m one of the youngest guys on this team but I know the role I have. I know how these guys view me and they value what I have to say.”
Thanks in large part to Tatum’s improvements, the Celtics are up 2-0 over the Raptors in the East semifinals as Tatum has averaged 27.5 points per game across the first two contests of the series.