Jayson Tatum is one of the top players in the current generation of the NBA. With a bright future ahead of him, JT was a highly sought-after talent entering the 2017 NBA Draft. He was phenomenal during his time with the Duke Blue Devils and this continued once he went pro. So much so, that four years into his career, the Boston Celtics handed him a five-year, $163,000,300 supermax contract. But, Jayson isn’t the only baller in his family. As Ballislife.com pointed out, Justin Tatum was quite the player back in the day.

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Justin Tatum played basketball professionally in the Netherlands, and his son Jayson would often come to visit him. While there, he picked up a coach’s skill set, which translated well once he returned to the US. Once back, he began coaching youth teams and even coached his son. Under his guidance, Jayson took the first steps to become an NBA superstar.

Justin Tatum was a star player in high school much like his son Jayson Tatum

The world is well aware of the incredible feats of Jayson Tatum. The Boston Celtics star has quickly established himself as one of the best players in the NBA. However, what many may not know is that he got the basketball gene from his father, Justin Tatum.

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Justin was a high school phenom, playing at Christian Brothers College High School. He had exceptional talent and dominated his opponents with his style of play similar to his son Jayson. His athleticism, finishing, and shooting were all top-class. And, according to his website, he even led his team to a state title back in 1997.

However, his career didn’t just end there. Following high school, Justin went on to play college basketball at Saint Louis University. It was here that he met Brandy Cole-Barnes, and the two had Jayson on March 3rd, 1998. After college, he would go on to play professionally in the Netherlands before returning to the United States to take up coaching.

He worked at his alma mater, Christian Brothers College before accepting a position at Soldan International Studies High School. He would then go on to be a Nike Elite Basketball League coach. And now, currently serves as a coach with the Australian National Basketball League team, the Illawarra Hawks.

Jayson had a complicated relationship with his father

Jayson Tatum and his father Justin are incredibly close. But, despite this, they had a very strained and complicated relationship when Jayson was growing up. According to the Celtics star, his father was a man he was incredibly afraid of. In particular, due to his aggressive coaching style.

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He recalled how his father would call him names, cuss him out, and push him to his limit in an interview with Graham Bensinger. To the point, where Jayson would start to wonder if his father even liked him.

It was tough love, to say the least, something that Jayson only understood years later. His father was just doing whatever it took to elevate his game. And that had nothing to do with how much he actually loved and cared for him.

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