Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has always been one to pay it forward to the young generation of players, especially at this stage of his career.
During the 2024 Olympics in Paris, James grew close to a lot of the young American players on the team, including Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum.
James and Tatum have had some solid battles against each other dating back to when the former was in Cleveland, but through it all, there was always a mutual respect between the two.
Because of that, it comes as no surprise that James took to social media to welcome Tatum back to action after returning from a torn Achilles in the Celtics’ win over the Dallas Mavericks:
WELCOME BACK BIG DEUCE!!! @jaytatum0 🙏🏾💪🏾🫡🔥
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 7, 2026
Tatum torn his Achilles in the postseason last season while playing against the New York Knicks, which is an injury that typically requires a full year of recovery. Similar to Kobe Bryant, Tatum took his rehab seriously though and made it back in 10 months, giving him a handful of games to get back in rhythm before the start of the postseason.
The 28-year-old definitely looked rusty to start his first game action in almost a year, but he made a dunk towards the end of the first half that got him going. In 27 minutes of action, Tatum wound up finishing with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in Boston’s win.
The Lakers and Celtics have already played both of their matchups this season, so barring a meeting in the NBA Finals, it won’t be until next season that Tatum and James get to share the court together once again. That’s if James returns to the NBA for a 24th season, of course, although many insiders are expecting that to be the case.
Jayson Tatum believes Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are greatest ever
Jayson Tatum knows his NBA history as when discussing the greatest players ever, he put Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant at the top of the list.
“I will say that anybody that don’t have Mike, Bron and Kobe in their top five, I really have a hard time listening to them… I think four, five is very interchangeable. I think those three are already cemented.”
Tatum is on his way to being an all-time great as well, but it’s cool to see him giving flowers to the legends that came before him.
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