Jayson Tatum has spoken on his 1-on-1 battle with Jaylen Brown during tonight’s All-Star Game.
The two Boston teammates had everyone’s attention amid an otherwise lacklustre game when they went back-and-forth against each other to finish the third quarter.
“It was like another day at the office for us,” Tatum said on NBA TV after the game.
“Been on the same team for six years now. We’ve played a countless number of 1-on-1 games, scrimmages against each other. We’ve always brought the best out in each other. It was a normal day for us, just millions of people watching, on one of the biggest stages, so we just had a lot of fun with it.”
Tatum also spoke about what it meant to him to win the Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP Award, after dropping an All-Star game record 55 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists on 71 percent field goal shooting.
“My first All-Star Game was in Chicago in 2020 when they renamed the MVP after him and I remember telling myself that someday I got to get one of those.”
When asked if Bryant ever challenged him to win the All-Star MVP, Tatum had this to say:
“Maybe not specifically, but I remember he would always tell me, you know, how much does it mean to you? How much does being special, how much does being a champion, how much are you willing to sacrifice, and that always resonated with me.”