Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum will wear Kobe Bryant’s No. 10 with Team USA in Tokyo 2020. The 23-year-old guard will play with his idol’s number at his first Olympics, the first since the tragic death of the Los Angeles Lakers and world basketball legend.
“It is a tremendous honor, and I will wear it with pride.”, Tatum valued before the media displaced to Las Vegas, where the Americans are concentrated to prepare for the Olympic tournament. The selection led by Gregg Popovich is seeking its fourth consecutive gold.
“They are the first Games since we lost him, so this has a lot of value”, deepened the Boston star. “It’s not something I take lightly.”
With the 10 behind him, Bryant collaborated with his teammates in the achievement of two Olympic golds in Beijing 2008 and London 2012. Tatum and Bryant worked together on more than one occasion during a preseason.
“I remember that after a game he told me that many people would not understand me,” Tatum recalled to the press. “He told me that a lot of sacrifice is needed, because the last frontier is how much you are willing to sacrifice to be great”.
In 2013, when he debuted in the youth ranks with Team USA, Tatum already managed to wear the 10 in honor of his favorite player, and that year he will continue to do so with even more meaning.