Had it not been for a heads-up from a fellow NBA superstar, Jayson Tatum might not have made history Sunday night in Salt Lake City.
Tatum showed out in the fourth All-Star Game of his young NBA career. The Boston Celtics superstar was named MVP of the elite exhibition at Vivint Arena thanks to a whopping 55 points, which now serve as the new All-Star Game record.
The 24-year-old apparently didn’t know he was approaching history when he was pacing Team Giannis in the fourth quarter. But that changed when Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard encouraged Tatum to pursue the record.
“I found out midway through the fourth (about the record),” Tatum told reporters after his team’s 184-175 win over Team LeBron, per ESPN. “I think I had like 49 and Dame was like, ‘Yo, the record’s 52.’ He was like, ‘Go get it.'”
A new All-Star Game benchmark wasn’t the only record Tatum set in Utah. The 2022-23 MVP candidate now stands alone as the only player in NBA history who score 50-plus points in a regular-season game, playoff contest and the All-Star Game.
