Father of Boston Celtics star gets coaching nod in NBL

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is not only one of the best young talents in the NBA, but he’s also a family man off the court.

And while most people likely think of Tatum’s son Deuce when they think of Tatum, it turns out there’s another basketball mind in the family, but not from the same spot on the court.

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum’s father gets head coaching gig in NBL

Justin Tatum, the father of Celtics star Jayson Tatum was once a basketball player of his own. During his playing career, the elder Tatum played ball at Saint Louis University where he put together a very modest career as a tough-nosed defender even winning the USA First Team All Defensive Player.

Following his playing career, Tatum carried his career over into the coaching element of the sport where he quickly found success. With over a decade of coaching experience, Jayson’s father, like his son, has plenty of accolades to go with his career. With multiple Coach of the Year awards from the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, Tatum’s success allowed him to travel overseas and get a head coaching job in the NBL, also known as the National Basketball League of Australia.

After the Illawarra Hawks of the NBL fell to 2-7 to start the season, the team from down under decided it was time to make some changes to get their team back on track. Among the changes, the big news was the team naming Justin Tatum as their interim head coach. Ironically, Tatum had just joined the former head coach of the Hawks, Jacob Jackomas staff. Now, he’ll be his successor.

Nonetheless, with plenty of experience and a great young basketball mind in his son to bounce ideas off of, the elder Tatum will have the opportunity to earn the head coaching job moving forward and could insert his name into multiple other head coaching vacancies around the world.