Lakers News: Why LeBron James Made 11-Year-Old Jayson Tatum Cry

The Boston Celtics star forward unlocks a memory.

Jan 30, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) passes around Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the fourth quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports / Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is heading into his 22nd season in the NBA, and most likely will be playing in his second-to-last one. In his time, he's remained a dominant force, and his game spans three decades. James has faced many players who idolized him growing up, and some of them are on the 2024 Team USA roster as they look to defend the gold in the Paris Olympic games.

One of the greats on the team who fits the bill is Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum. Tatum, who has been in the league for almost a decade, is still among the young great players in the NBA. However, before he was any of those things, he was just a young kid idolizing the NBA stars before him, one of them being James.

The NBA released a video of Tatum signing basketballs and telling the story of when he was 11 years old, and James refused to sign an autograph and take a picture with him. Tatum described the story in detail and remembered it like it was yesterday.

"[LeBron] ain't tell me no but, he kinda told me no," Tatum said. "In Memphis a long time ago, Larry Hughes was my dad's best friend, they played on the Cavs together. My mom took me to a game in Memphis, I wanted to meet LeBron, and I wanted to get a picture with him and an autograph. There were a lot of people back there, and he was like, 'I'm out, I gotta go.' And I got in the car and started crying."

JT got his revenge on LeBron 😂 #USABMNT pic.twitter.com/9shcJ87uaM

— NBA (@NBA) July 16, 2024

Tatum clearly took that moment to heart and did his best to try to outplay James every single chance he got. The two have gone head to head in 20 games, 13 in the regular season and seven in the playoffs; they are tied with a 10-10 record.

Unfortunately, Tatum got the best of James and the rest of the league when he helped Boston capture their 18th NBA title and first since 2008, which came over the Lakers.

Tatum and James must now unite as they embark on the journey to win the USA its fifth consecutive gold medal.

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