Jayson Tatum may be an NBA star, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t get nervous around basketball legends like Michael Jordan.
During an appearance on the Tuesday, January 21, episode Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Boston Celtics player (26) recalled the awkward moment he experienced when he met Jordan (61) in 2019 when he signed a contract with the Jordan brand. Tatum was in Los Angeles this week as the Celtics play the Clippers on Wednesday, January 22nd.
The athlete explained that the two met in Paris during a vacation that the brand will organize during the summer.
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Michael Jordan at the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
Mark Cornelison/Lexington Herald-Leader/Tribune News Service/Getty
“It was my first meeting with everyone in the team and it was like a welcome to family moment,” he said, before admitting that he effectively “ruined” his experience.
Tatum recalled that on the same day he announced his signing with the brand, there was an all-you-can-eat dinner that included Jordan, Jordan’s wife Yvette Prieto, and Spike Lee, all sitting at the same table.
“I was so nervous, my hands were shaking and I go to shake his hand and I knock over his wine glass and spill it all over the place. I break the glass and I’m speechless,” Tatum said.
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According to the five-time NBA All-Star, Jordan didn’t seem upset as he was acting “super cool about it.”
“It’s something we still laugh about today,” admitted the father of two children.
While sharing a story on 7 pm in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony podcast last July, Tatum provided additional insight into what Jordan said immediately after spilling the wine glass.
“He says, ‘Yo, young man, you’re good,’ you know what I’m saying? ‘Go sit down, you’re good’… We’ve been closed ever since and it’s a different person I’ll send a message [and] I will call – he said.
Jayson Tatum’s son Deuce ran onto the court to hug his dad after the Celtics won the 2024 NBA Finals.
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Jayson Tatum during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 9, 2021.
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty
Tatum also recalled how Jordan helped him early in his career.
“I remember right before my first trip to the finals. I remember we got to San Francisco and I called him. I was like, ‘Gee, what’s this going to be like? What’s it like to be in the finals? What should I expect?’ “, he said, noting that the two “talked for a long time”.
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“He is someone like that [will] text me after games and whatever, so I got his name on the phone like Uncle Mike,” Tatum said.
Tatum has played for the Celtics since being drafted with the third overall pick in 2017. A native of St. Louisa and the team won the 2024 NBA Finals in June.
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