Jayson Tatum Shares Last Lesson Learned from Kobe Bryant

Jayson Tatum's last lesson from Kobe Bryant is helping the now five-time All-Star navigate on and off the court.

In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Boston Celtics wing Jayson Tatum said he wished he had reached out to the late Kobe Bryant more when he had the chance.

"I can’t believe that he’s not here anymore," Tatum said. "And the thing that I regret is I wish I would’ve called him more. I wish I would’ve texted him more. I just always thought he was so busy. I never wanted to bother him. We knew each other. He told me to text him, call him anytime. But I was almost scared. I can only imagine all the things he has going on. I don’t want to bother him. And obviously after what happened, I wish I would’ve reached out more. I had so many questions I wanted to know the answers to. I should have called him more and it taught me a lesson.

“Now I don’t hold back with older guys in the league now, like ’Bron [LeBron James]. ’Bron is somebody that I text and call a lot, and it could be from basketball to how to take care of your body to business decisions off the court. People are willing to give you answers, you just have to ask.”

It's well known that Bryant was Tatum's favorite player when he was growing up in St. Louis. 

Bryant was one of nine people who died when a helicopter crashed in Calabasas, Calif. back in January of 2020. He was 41 years old at the time of his passing.

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