“I missed out on a father-son relationship”. As hard as it would have been for him to admit it, Jayson Tatum didn’t choose to hide the reality of the bond he had developed with his father. Many great NBA players of today learned to excel in the sport through the inspiration and encouragement they received from their fathers. The road wasn’t easy for any of them. Stephen Curry recalled having to change his shooting methods under encouragement from his parents. Jalen Brunson’s father used such stern coaching ways that it even “scared” the future Knicks player’s mother. Similarly, despite the success he garnered, Jayson Tatum doesn’t remember his father’s methods, which built his basketball skills, too fondly.

In 2022, Celtics star Jayson Tatum sat down for an interview with renowned journalist Graham Bensinger, where he discussed the significant influence of his father on his life. Before defeating his dad in a one-on-one game as an eighth grader, Jayson underwent rigorous training with both of his parents. Although he acknowledges that he “wouldn’t change it because it was what I needed,” he expressed discomfort over the incident when his father pinned him against the locker, held him by the underarms, and called him the ‘B-Word.’

“I was scared of him, and he would grab me by my shirt, and pin me up against the wall, and cuss me out in front of everybody,”  Tatum said. “I would be bawling, like crying. He called me out by name. But then, I would come out at halftime, and I would outscore the rest of the team, and we would win. And so, in his mind, like he needed to push my buttons to get me to a certain point.”

Justin Tatum’s antics didn’t just affect the relationship with his son, but also his co-parenting partner! Sitting across from Graham Bensinger, Brandy Cole revealed how she often didn’t see eye to eye with Jayson’s father when it came to the coaching methods. Despite this, she ensured that no friction developed between father and son, explaining to Jayson how important it was to maintain their relationship. “He’s a competitor. You know, he wants to win, he wants you to be the best version of you.”

The Celtics small forward/power forward attributed his early habit of working out at 5:30 am to practice just so that he could prove wrong all the ‘soft’ and ‘wasn’t going to make it’ claims put forward by his father. Even playing for the high school basketball team at Chaminade, the player had to often go up against the team that his father was coaching. Justin would show no mercy, and would openly share secrets about his son’s weak points to the team he was mentoring. Fortunately, after losing the first game, Tatum didn’t end up losing in any of the other times he went up against Justin’s high school team.

If the relationship between Jayson and his father could be summarized in a few words, it would be this: “I didn’t have that real father-son relationship, and looking back on it, it’s hard to say like would I change it, because my life might be different. So, it’s like ‘No’, but it’s like there are things that I missed out on as a kid.” While no one can deny that the 2024 NBA champion went through some difficulties, we would be remiss if we didn’t hear the other side of the story.

“Life is not gonna be easy” –  Jayson Tatum’s father defends his harsh methods

The newly released Netflix Series, Starting 5, places special emphasis on covering Jayson Tatum as one of its primary characters. Along with capturing the Celtics star’s on-court highlights and some adorable moments of his son Deuce, the show also carries a few quotes from Justin Tatum himself. During the seventh episode, he brought out the difficulties that came with co-parenting, stating that it was “tough.” If raising a kid at the young age of 18 years wasn’t difficult enough, the challenges of becoming an ideal role model were confusing as well. While his methods were wrong, Jayson’s father revealed that he only had good intentions in mind when bringing up his kid.

“I was a little harsh and tough on him at times, but it was for the fact that I needed him to understand that life is not gonna be easy,” said Justin. “And so, if you wanna love this game, put your all into it.” The method allowed him to know how to best unlock his son’s potential, as he revealed “There is a button Jayson has that needs to be pushed, and when it’s pushed, unbelievable.”

The relationship between Jayson and Justin might have been far from perfect. However, if Boston Celtics fans shout Jayson Tatum’s name every time they see him at TD Garden, they cannot overlook Justin Tatum’s role in helping him get there.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.