INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- When he was 14-years-old, Jayson Tatum sent LeBron James a tweet begging the then-Miami Heat superstar to follow him on Twitter. James likely had no idea Tatum was a future 5-star prospect and top-3 pick in the NBA Draft.
The same, however, couldn't be said of Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue, who coincidentally was serving as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics back then. A fellow Missourian, Lue knew all about the player who still affectionately refers to as "Little J."
In fact, the two are family.
"He's my little cousin. His dad, Justin Tatum, is best friends with [former Cavs guard and St. Louis native] Larry Hughes and they come down all the time," Lue revealed Thursday. "He's a part of my extended family, Justin is. They come to Mexico, [Missouri], all the time and just seeing 'Little J' when he was six, seven-years-old, to who he is today is just crazy."
Lue will be seeing a lot more of Tatum in the coming weeks, as his Cavs prepare to face 'Little J's' Celtics in the upcoming Eastern Conference Finals. And it won't merely just be an exchange of pleasantries and memories between the two either, as the rookie forward has emerged as injury-riddled Boston's top offensive option throughout their run to the East Finals.
"It's tough because you want to see him do well, but not against you," Lue said with a smile. "We just gotta try to take him and be physical with him and not let him get easy baskets."
That will be easier than done against the Duke product, who the Celtics selected with the No. 3 pick of last year's draft. After averaging 13.9 points per game in the regular season, Tatum has averaged 18.8 throughout the playoffs, scoring at least 20 points in each of Boston's last seven contests.
With Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward sidelined with injuries, the 20-year-old Tatum's development has been accelerated -- just as it was six years ago when he went from the little kid running around Lue's annual Fourth of July barbeque to a future NBA prospect.
"Probably 14," Lue answered when asked how old Tatum was when he had an inkling he could wind up in the NBA. "Just seeing who he is today, 6-8 or 6-9, playing for the Celtics, six or seven 20-point games in the playoffs. To see him -- it's just kind of weird to me.
