Jayson Tatum is going to wear jersey number 10 for Team USA in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. Notably, this is the same number that Kobe Bryant wore when he teamed up with LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and the other members of the 2008 Redeem Team.

While the Celtics superstar has received a ton of backlash and vitriol when it comes to his adoration of Bryant, he is not at all fazed. In fact, Tatum sees this as a great opportunity to pay tribute to the late Los Angeles Lakers legend once again. He outlined his gratefulness after Team USA allowed him to be able to wear the iconic jersey number heading into the 2024 Paris Olympics, via Arash Markazi of The Sporting Tribune.“Nothing short of an honor to be able to represent this uniform and wear No. 10. Anyone who remotely knows me knows how much influence that he had on me as a kid. Inspiring me to reach my goals. It’s definitely not something I take for granted or lightly,” Tatum declared.

 

He is just coming off an impressive NBA Finals run with the Celtics. Tatum gave the organization their 18th banner to raise. His effort led him to be the team’s top producer in points, rebounds and assists. He is likely going to carry that momentum for his Team USA run in the Olympics. After all, there is no better tribute to Bryant than winning it all for the country.

Tears were shed, as expected.

The famed “Splash Brothers,” Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, reunited for a final 15-minute phone conversation discussing the paths they had never intended or desired to follow as teammates with the Golden State Warriors and the greatest backcourt in basketball history. No. 11 called No. 30 to inform him that it had ended on June 28, one day prior to the formal start of NBA free agency.

оn SunԀаy, while аt Teаm USа trаining cаmp, Curry tоlԀ The аthletic, “It’s оne оf thоse things where yоu never think yоu’Ԁ ever hаve thаt cоnversаtiоn.” “Ԁоwn tо the lаst pоssible mоment, when I hаԀ every reаsоn tо believe thаt Thоmpsоn аnԀ the Wаrriоrs wоulԀ nоt be аble tо reаch а cоntrаct аgreement, yоu cоulԀ still be hоlԀing оut hоpe thаt he wоulԀ suԀԀenly аnnоunce, ‘оh, we gоt it Ԁоne.'”

“You promise that kind of optimism. It was a tough decision, though. No amount of description can do justice to hearing him explain the reasoning for his decision and express his immense gratitude for our relationship, our roles as teammates, and our status as champions. It must have been tough for him. Since you would rather not go through it while crying, you simply attempt to maintain your composure while on the phone. A small amount of tears were shed. But I’ll be able to channel that energy appropriately when we meet in person; it’s just one of those things.