“I Knocked Over his Wine Glass on the Table”: Jayson Tatum Reveals His Embarrassing First Encounter with Michael Jordan

Jayson Tatum has been making large waves in the NBA with his spectacular gameplay. The 22-year-old even earned a special nickname from LeBron James himself. But his story of meeting Michael Jordan in Paris is hilarious and a must-read for everyone!

Everyone dreams of wearing Air Jordan sneakers. To wear the brand of the GOAT himself is a great honor. And for Tatum, the dream came true last year, when the Celtics star signed a multi-year deal with the Jordan brand.

In a recent appearance on ‘The Encore,’ he expressed his joy at being associated with Air Jordan. “It was like a dream come true,” Tatum told the host, Sage Steele. “The cool part I tell a lot of people about coming to the Jordan Brand family is nobody comes over without, you know, Michael Jordan has the last say.” However, his story of meeting MJ at a dinner event is extremely funny and it details how young players look at Jordan as a massive figure. 

When Jayson Tatum embarrassed himself in front of Michael Jordan 

In a recent appearance on ‘All the Smoke’ podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Tatum revealed an embarrassing incident that took place during a Jordan family dinner. 

“The Jordan brand family took a trip to Monte Carlo and Paris this summer,” Tatum began. “And, that was kinda like my introduction to Jordan brand, to the world, and meeting all those guys and first time I really sat down and talked to MJ.”

“At night we had a dinner, so it was like Melo was there, Blake was there, Russ, Spike Lee, like everybody was there.” Carrying a nervous attitude, Tatum walked in and found MJ and his wife sitting next to him. 

“I walk in and I was like I’m gonna say ‘what’s up’ to him before I sit down. Then I walk over to him, and my hands start sweating, and I was like ‘What’s up Mike?’ When I went to go shake his hands, I knocked over his wine glass on the table and it broke.”

Upon hearing this, the hosts immediately burst into laughter. Tatum revealed his utter embarrassment, though MJ didn’t make much out of it. Through this incident, Tatum got introduced to the Jordan family, and has been performing well ever since. Before the league shut down, the forward was averaging 23.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in the season.