Jayson Tatum reveals the former Celtic who inspired him to pick Duke
Tatum said Jabari Parker was the reason he chose Duke.
Jayson Tatum was a consensus five-star prospect and No. 3 player in the country during his senior year of high school in 2016, according to ESPN.
He had his pick of the nation’s top college basketball programs. Kentucky, North Carolina, and UCLA were among the many schools that offered Tatum scholarships.
Ultimately, Tatum picked Duke. The decision worked out well, as the Celtics picked him No. 3 overall in the NBA Draft the following year.
As it turns out, there’s a former Celtic who helped inspire Tatum to pick the Blue Devils. Jabari Parker, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft, was someone Tatum wanted to emulate.
Like Tatum, Parker was a five-star prospect who became a lottery pick after growing up in the Midwest. Parker is originally from Chicago. Tatum is from St. Louis. The two forwards are relatively close in age, but Parker is a few years older than Tatum.
Parker is now playing overseas in Spain for F.C. Barcelona. He recently hit a buzzer-beater, which Tatum said he watched.
“I did see he hit a buzzer-beater the other day,” Tatum said, according to MassLive. “I haven’t talked to Jabari in a minute, but somebody that I have a lot of respect for. Happy that he’s playing at a high level. Obviously, I got to play with him, during two different stints with the Celtics. He was the reason I went to Duke. I wanted to be like him. I have a lot of love for him and happy he’s playing well.”
Parker, 28, spent the final two seasons of his NBA career with the Celtics. He played sparingly during his time in Boston, appearing in 24 games with no starts over the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
The earlier portion of Parker’s career was more promising, but injuries were a persistent issue with Parker.
He played in just 25 games during his rookie season before an ACL tear brought it to a close. After averaging a career-high 20.1 points per game with the Bucks through 51 games in 2017, he tore his ACL again. Parker never played more than 40 games in an NBA season again after the second ACL tear.
The Celtics were Parker’s sixth stop in the NBA after the Bucks, Bulls, Wizards, Hawks, and Kings. He played 310 games over 11 seasons and averaged 14.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and shot 49.4 percent from the field for his career.
Tatum’s career has turned out differently than Parker’s so far. He’s a four-time All-Star, and has played in 64 games or more in each of his NBA seasons to date, except for this one which is less than halfway done.
But, Tatum still remembers the inspiration he felt watching Parker play college basketball and the decision it helped him to make.
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