Jayson Tatum Reveals Why He Carries a Lion King Lunch Box
Jayson Tatum is quickly becoming the King of the Boston Celtics. That, however, is not the reason why the Celtics all-star forward carries a Lion King lunch box with him while he’s in the NBA’s ‘bubble’ in Orlando, Florida. After Saturday’s Game 4 loss to the Toronto Raptors, Tatum explained why he carries it with him.
Jayson Tatum’s basketball career
Jayson Tatum is one of those guys dispelling the myth that Duke basketball players never thrive in the NBA. Tatum was one of the one-and-done basketball players for the Blue Devils, leaving for the NBA after one college season.
While playing for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, Tatum proved to be one of the nation’s top players. In 29 games, Tatum averaged 16.8 points per game. Tatum kicked things up a notch in the ACC Tournament. He was named to the all-tourney team after averaging 22 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Tatum was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft. He was the third overall player selected. Tatum has become the Celtics’ go-to player and made his first NBA All-Star team this season.
Tatum emerging as one of the NBA’s best
Jayson Tatum was drafted with the third pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. He was taken after the Philadelphia 76ers grabbed Markelle Fultz at No. 1 and the Los Angeles Lakers grabbed Lonzo Ball second. Tatum is well on his way to having a much better NBA career than those two.
Tatum has shown extreme improvement in each of this three seasons in the NBA. As a rookie, Tatum played in 80 games, starting every one of them. He put up 13.9 points and five rebounds per game. In his second season, his points-per-game averaged improved to 15.7 and his rebounding average went up to six per contest.
This season, Tatum’s scoring average swelled to 23.4 points per game. Tatum has become the focal point of the Celtics’ offense and he’s become one of the NBA’s best players. He’s averaging seven rebounds per game and he made his first NBA All-Star squad. It is expected the Celtics will be signing the 22-year-old Tatum to a max contract.
Jayson Tatum explains why he carries a Lion King lunch box
The Boston Celtics had just seen their 2-0 series lead over the Toronto Raptors disappear. Their gut-wrenching loss in Game 3 was followed by another loss Saturday as the Raptors pulled even at two games apiece. After a tough loss, Celtics star Jayson Tatum was asked the tough questions.
Why do you carry around a Lion King lunch box, Tatum was asked. Not showing any signs of embarrassment nor any ill will toward the reporter for asking, Tatum gave an honest answer. It’s all because of his 2-year-old son, Deuce.
“Deuce loves lions and loves Lion King and I always carry my food to the game so it’s just a little something for when he sees the picture he sees that daddy has a Lion King lunchbox,” Tatum said. There you have it. Another tough question answered.
All Stats Courtesy of Basketball Reference.
