Jayson Tatum discusses ‘tremendous honor’ of wearing Kobe Bryant’s jersey number for Olympics

Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum is going to be wearing Kobe Bryant’s Olympic jersey number in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, and Tatum recently made it very clear how he feels about the honor.

“With this being the first Olympics since we lost him, it holds that much more value,” Tatum said. “It’s not something I take lightly.”

Tatum added that he’s honored to be able to wear the number that his hero once wore during Olympic competitions.

“It’s a tremendous honor,” Tatum said. “And I’ll wear it proudly.”

Although Bryant wore No. 24 and No. 8 during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, he wore No. 10 throughout his Olympic career. That distinction now belongs to Tatum, a player who idolized Bryant growing up.

This summer’s Olympics will mark Tatum’s debut in the event. After being selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Celtics, he has established himself as one of the most exciting young talents in the league.

In the 2020-21 season, Tatum averaged 26.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while hitting 45.9 percent of his shots from the field and 38.6 percent of his shots from 3-point range. He battled with COVID-19 at one point during the year and even had to resort to using an inhaler before games. Despite that, he had a great year.

Bryant won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team. Tatum hopes to get one of his own this year.