LeBron James and Jayson Tatum were the two biggest names on the court at Jamal Crawford’s CrawsOver Pro-Am in Seattle, and they gave onlookers a memory they’ll likely never forget.
During the first quarter of a game suspended by condensation on the court caused by unseasonably humid conditions and a large number of spectators in the stands, Tatum tossed up an alley-oop lob that was finished by ‘the king’ in emphatic fashion.
Attendance was capped at less than 3,000, for the free event, which caused fans to camp out overnight Friday to assure their spot in line. Thousands reportedly remained outside the venue after fans were no longer being let in.
Here was the spectacular left-handed alley-oop finish from LeBron James off of a textbook Jayson Tatum lob
JAYSON TATUM TO LEBRON JAMES 🤯 @thecrawsover @jaytatum0 @KingJames pic.twitter.com/D93ofrR9pU
— Overtime (@overtime) August 21, 2022
The event was a special one for the city of Seattle, who no longer has an NBA franchise after the Supersonics became the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008. With that said, the event didn’t go without a hitch having ending after wet spots on the court made conditions dangerous.
Jamal Crawford had this to say to explain the game’s premature ending:
"“You don’t get a day like this often, but it’s my job to protect everybody’s safety. On the court, I couldn’t risk those guys taking a chance of getting hurt. It’s not worth that. It’s supposed to drive inspiration and give hope and they did that. The job was accomplished.”"
Milwaukee Bucks rookie MarJon Beauchamp, who along with Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Tari Eason, CJ Elleby, five-foot-nine messiah Isaiah Thomas, and Aaron Gordon, comprised the star-studded cast for the CrawsOver Pro-Am, said he dreamed of a day like this:
"“The experience was [once in] a lifetime. You’ll probably never see that again. It was cool to be out there in Seattle, all these great players. Dreamed of this.”"
Speaking of dreaming, those that are longing for Jayson Tatum and LeBron James teaming up will have to keep dreaming. Despite Tatum sporting the purple and gold for a Kobe Bryant tribute, No. 0 could very well be the next Boston Celtics lifer.