There are a lot of anecdotes to describe Jayson Tatum’s basketball prowess. But a single quote can describe the small boy inside that 6’8 tall body. “I missed out on a father-son relationship,” said the Boston Celtics superstar about his childhood, growing up in a broken home. Not only that, JT picked up the courage to reveal his father’s tough and harsh nature when it comes to coaching him. From the looks of it, it might seem like a journey of thorns all the way, but it wasn’t. The superstar clarified himself!
It takes immense pressure to make diamonds. Similarly, NBA superstars would have gone through a hard physical and emotional labor to reach this height. Out of which, a few superstars might have carried something extra, the emotional baggage of an estranged family.
Just like LeBron James, Jayson Tatum also grew up under his mother’s shadow. While Bron didn’t really have a father figure around him, JT’s father, Justin Tatum, appeared sporadically throughout his childhood. “Me and my dad only ever went to games or practice and to get haircuts. We didn’t go to amusement parks. We didn’t go to picnics, or fishing, or really have father-son talks because it was just all basketball,” said the Celts superstar in a sitdown with Graham Bensinger two years ago.
On the other hand, his mother Brandy Cole rarely made eye contact with Justin, as she had her reservations about his ways of teaching basketball to JT. It’s quite natural to picture his childhood as a cold, gloomy, and melancholic experience except it wasn’t. Don’t worry, even I pictured it the same way.
Luckily, the 26-year-old realized it himself and showed us a glimpse of how his childhood looked on odd days. He took his IG handle and shared a picture of him standing between his parents with a bright smile. Moreover, he went a step further and issued a clarification, saying, “They took a few photos together,” with a flurry of laughing emojis. There’s no doubt that JT had a strained relationship with his father but Justin had his own reasons.
Jayson and Justin Tatum: A tale of tough love
“I was scared of him, and he would grab me by my shirt, and pin me up against the wall, and cuss me out in front of everybody,” said Tatum in the Bensinger interview. But what happened after that was a miracle. The Celtics‘ star narrated how his father was tough on him at the games. Surprisingly, this treatment brought out an unusual response from young Jayson Tatum.
“I would come out at halftime, and I would outscore the rest of the team, and we would win. And so, in his mind, like he needed to push my buttons to get me to a certain point,” said Tatum, explaining that his father had the key to unlock his potential. Meanwhile, his mother Brandy wasn’t a big fan of it but ensured that JT didn’t have any friction with his father.
Jun 8, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) walks off the court holding his son Jayson Tatum Jr. after beating the Golden State Warriors in game three of the 2022 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
Years later, Justin revealed why he was hard on Tatum. Well, it was the obvious answer. Featuring in the latest Netflix Docu-Series, Starting 5, he said, “I needed him to understand that life is not gonna be easy… here is a button Jayson has that needs to be pushed, and when it’s pushed, unbelievable.”
Anyway, now, Jayson has reached a point in his career where he doesn’t need anyone to push the button. He has already proved himself with a championship ring. While there’s always a debate about Justin’s parenting style, he did prove what he wanted to prove.
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