Even though he is a fan favourite and has played in the NBA Finals, Jayson Tatum still remembers how the LA Lakers passed on him in the 2017 draft.

Tatum was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up as a Lakers fan. He looked up to the late Kobe Bryant. His dream was to play for the Purple and Gold in Hollywood, just like all Mamba fans. The Lakers are one of the most famous teams in NBA history. They have won a record 32 NBA Finals and are tied with the Celtics for the most wins (17).

Tatum hoped that the Lakers would pick him in 2017, but they didn’t. As stated by Ramona Shelburne and Elizabeth Merrill of ESPN, Tatum talked about how close he was to making his dream come true:

It was my favourite team to watch, and Kobe was my favourite player. The Lakers having the second pick was crazy, and I was so close to making my dream come true. At the time, it seemed like they didn’t want anything to do with me.

At that time, the Lakers didn’t want to work with Tatum. The Celtics picked him third, one pick after the Lakers.

Magic Johnson was in charge in Los Angeles at the time, and he had his sights set on Lonzo Ball of UCLA. Tatum wasn’t even asked to work out by the group. It’s no longer true that Ball and Johnson play for the Lakers. Instead, Tatum is leading the Celtics in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.

Tatum talked about the night the Celtics chose in another interview with Quentin Richardson. He said:

“Everyone knows that Kobe was my favourite player and role model. As a kid, I didn’t like the Celtics. I didn’t like them. As a child, I thought, “I’m going to play for the Lakers.” I had no idea where Boston was. I was pretty sure it was on the East Coast. I had never been there and had never thought about going there. I thought it was kind of crazy when I was chosen. For example, I used to dislike the Celtics.

The Celtics and Lakers have been foes since the 1950s, so most Lakers fans hate them. Back in the 1960s, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell fought. In the 1980s, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird fought.

Many people thought that Tatum and Ball would have the same competition as Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce did in the late 2000s. But Lonzo Ball now plays for the Chicago Bulls, and Tatum is about to leave as a Boston star.