Three years ago, Jayson Tatum was a budding star at Duke while Kyrie Irving was fresh off an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
A lot has changed since then, with the two even crossing paths as teammates with the Boston Celtics, but Tatum fondly recalls watching Irving drill a clutch, game-winning shot against the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day 2016.
Tatum, now in his third season with the Celtics after being selected with the third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, shared this memory in a tweet Monday, one day after dropping a career-high 39 points against the Charlotte Hornets and two days before facing the Toronto Raptors on Christmas Day.
Before I was in the league I remember Kyrie hitting the game winner against Warriors on Xmas…Finals preview! Now making my own memories on Xmas. Got my first win last year and want another. All I want for Christmas…#NBAXmasMemory
— Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0) December 23, 2019
Wednesday’s matchup with the Raptors marks the fourth consecutive Christmas Day game for the Celtics. Boston defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 121-114 on Dec. 25 last season, with Irving scoring a game-high 40 points and Tatum adding 23 points with 10 rebounds.
Irving, of course, left Boston to sign with the Brooklyn Nets in free agency this past offseason, but Tatum continues to grow in green. Tatum, who turns 22 in March, enters Wednesday’s game against Toronto averaging 21.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 34.1 minutes per game — all of which would represent career-highs.
