Jayson Tatum has come a long way from asking LeBron James to follow him on Twitter.
The Boston Celtics rookie is the team’s leading scorer in the 2018 postseason and is fresh off being named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. He’s also no friend of LeBron James at the moment, considering the Celtics are locked in a 2-2 series tie in the Eastern Conference finals.
But James wasn’t above issuing Tatum some lofty praise Wednesday ahead of Game 5 at TD Garden.
“I think his composure (is impressive), he plays above his age,” James said of the 20-year-old Tatum at the Cavs’ shootaround, via The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. “I think the unfortunate events of the injuries that they’ve had have allowed him to, I believe, get better faster than I believe they expected here. Because it’s given him an opportunity to make fail plays or make mistakes and learn from them and still be on the floor.
“His talent, his composure, where he comes from has allowed him to be successful, so he’s a very, very, very good player already and he definitely at this pace can become a great player.”
It appears the kid has the king’s stamp of approval.
James does believe circumstance has factored into Tatum’s success; the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft was forced to take on a much larger role than intended after Gordon Hayward suffered a season-ending injury against LeBron’s Cavs on opening night.
James also appears to give credit to Celtics head coach Brad Stevens for sticking with Tatum during his inevitable NBA learning curve.
But the Cavs star clearly is impressed with Tatum’s maturity level and ability to make the best of his situation. The Duke product scored 20-plus points in seven consecutive playoff games earlier this postseason and is a big reason why the C’s find themselves in a “best-of-three” against the game’s best player with an NBA Finals berth at stake.
