Jayson Tatum was only three years old when Joe Johnson played his last game for the Boston Celtics.
Now, the two are teammates, with the team signing Johnson, now 40, to a 10-day hardship contract with seven Celtics players in the NBA's COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Like other players Boston has brought in through the last week, head coach Ime Udoka values the veteran presence Johnson brings, having played 17 seasons already. Tatum in particular was quite happy to hear news that he had a new teammate, coach Ime Udoka said before the Celtics' game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
"It's a guy that, you know, they all looked up to at some point and when I mentioned it to Jayson specifically that he was coming he started smile like, 'That was one of my favorite players coming up,' " Udoka said.
Johnson hasn't played in an NBA game in three years, but never ruled out a return -- though he didn't have high hopes.
This time around, he hopes to just enjoy the moment and offer wisdom to younger players.
"I'll be in their ear a lot," Johnson said pregame. "I had a run-in with Jaylen Brown this summer, we got a chance to play a little bit but I didn't really know him that well. But now I get to know these guys. I've had a chance to have 1-on-1 talk with me and Jayson Tatum this morning when I was doing my stuff, and he's one of the only guys in the gym. It will be fun."
A player nicknamed "ISO Joe" teaming up with Tatum? This stuff writes itself.
