The NBA All-Star draft took place Thursday night, with captains Lebron James, and Kevin Durant making the selections. Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was recently supplanted into the starters pool after Durant was announced to be out for the All-Star game.
However, Tatum was selected 10th, last out of the starter pool, to team Durant.
Durant also selected Washington guard, and St. Louis native, Bradley Beal. Beal and Tatum have known each other since they were children, and have a storied relationship since Tatum was in eighth-grade. There have been swirling rumors for years about Tatum and Beal at one point playing together…
And now the dream is coming to fruition.
In their decades of competitive basketball, they have never played on the same team, just pitted against each other. Beal himself was quite ecstatic on the opportunity to play with Tatum, saying:
"“It’s a blessing man. We’ve never ever in my life got to play on the same team. We’ve always played one on one, and competed against each other. For us to share the floor together for the first time in our life, that speaks volumes. I’m happy with his growth…i’m definitely trying to share the floor with him. “"
This pairing, of course, should put smiles on every Celtics fan’s face, as Beal has been a hopeful target for quite a while now. On the same topic, Tatum added:
"“I was excited. For two guys from the same high school and same neighborhood, it don’t get no better than that. It’s just a really special moment.”"
Tatum and Beal are both posting career highs in nearly every statistical category this year, including Beal being the NBA’s leading scorer. However, the Wizards have struggled this year.
Despite winning eight of their last 10, they still sit 12th in the Eastern Conference.
Beal has been quite adamant about sticking with Washington, through thick and thin, but things can always change, and change quickly. He could be the type of player that pushes Boston over the top in terms of contention.
While I personally think the 3x All-Star is just another mouth to feed, and not exactly a team need, 33 points per game is never a bad thing.
Boston Celtics studs Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will be pitted against each other in the All-Star game
As previously stated, Tatum was the final selection of the starter pool, to team KD.
His Boston Celtics teammate, Jaylen Brown, on the other hand, was the fourth pick of the second round for team Lebron. Similar to Beal and Tatum playing with each other for the first time, this is the first time Tatum and Brown will have played against each other.
Tatum and Brown average a combined 49.8 points, 12.4 rebounds, 8.3 assists, on 47 percent shooting from the field. The Duo has been one of the best in the entire NBA this year, let alone the “under 25” category.
It should be fun to see them duke it out on the court, and I’m sure they both give some extra defensive effort versus the other.