Jayson Tatum was surrounded by basketball greatness in Cleveland over the weekend.
We’re not just talking about the fellow 2022 NBA All-Stars who joined Tatum in the star-studded exhibition Sunday night at RocketMortgage Field House. The NBA royalty also included the very-best players to ever play the sport, who were on hand for the league’s 75th-anniversary festivities.
Among the top-75 greats were Celtics legends Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, who called on Tatum for a group photo. While Boston’s franchise cornerstone was honored by the gesture, he felt a bit out of place.
“I kind of felt like I didn’t even belong in that picture with all that they’ve accomplished and what they mean to the game, and especially to the Celtics,” Tatum told reporters, per Boston.com. “That was my first time meeting Parish, and I know the other guys pretty well, but being in that picture with them was special. That was something I will frame, and a moment I’ll always remember.”
Who knows, maybe Tatum will stand side-by-side those aforementioned Hall of Famers in 25 years when the NBA puts together its top-100 list for the league’s century milestone.
