Image Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

“Don’t really watch Lakers play” – Jayson Tatum gives a blunt response to Lakers trade for Luka Doncic

Image Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The reality finally kicked in for Lakers and Mavs fans when Luka Doncic showed up in a purple and gold jersey on Monday for the Lakers’ game against the Jazz. The trade, which saw Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029-first round pick going to Dallas, shocked everyone and is now considered one of the biggest in NBA history.

Doncic had led the Mavericks to the finals last season, where they lost to the Boston Celtics. Many NBA stars, including Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving reacted to the shocking trade.

However, Celtics’ star Jayson Tatum gave a rather blunt response when asked about the trade.

After the Celtics’ win over the Heat on Monday, a reporter asked Tatum, who grew up a huge Kobe Bryant fan, about the impact of Doncic joining the Lakers, especially for younger fans. Tatum didn’t seem too excited about the question.

“I don’t know,” Tatum said, clearly uninterested. “I know a lot of kids watch the Celtics play.”

When the reporter said it’s a big change for the league, Tatum shrugged it off.

“Yeah, it was a big trade and a big change,” he replied. “But I’m not a little kid anymore, so I don’t really watch the Lakers play. I’m a big Celtics fan.”

Jayson Tatum was asked about growing up watching Kobe Bryant and it means for Luka Doncic to be a Laker:

“A lot of kids watch the Celtics play…I’m not a little kid anymore, so I don’t really watch the Lakers play. I’m a big Celtics fan.” pic.twitter.com/wirYZNCutA
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) February 11, 2025

Jayson Tatum wanted to play for Lakers

It’s no secret that Tatum idolized Kobe Bryant growing up and even called the Lakers his favorite team to watch. He has a tattoo to remember the moment he won the Kobe Bryant MVP Award in the 2023 All-Star Game after scoring 55 points.

Also Read:

Why Luka Doncic was traded by Mavericks?
How many points did Luka Doncic score on his debut with Lakers? Full Stats vs Jazz
“Be your f***ing self”- LeBron James sends clear message to Luka Doncic ahead of debut game for Lakers

“For me, I grew up a Kobe fan, I always wanted to play for the Lakers”, Tatum had revealed in 2024. For them to have the No. 2 pick and it wasn’t even a thought that I was gonna get drafted, that was kind of devastating,” Tatum said. “I never worked out for the Lakers, they never came to watch me workout.”

While Tatum has turned out to be a superstar for the Celtics, it seems the 26-year-old still hasn’t forgotten the Lakers’ snub from 2017 NBA draft.

Boston Celtics

Jayson Tatum

Los Angeles Lakers

Luka Doncic

Swati Bhatia

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I work as a content strategist, specializing in creating engaging content about the NBA, WNBA, and MLB. My main focus is on writing breaking news updates, research-based articles, and covering trending topics. Right now, I’m leading the content team for the NBA, WNBA, and MLB categories at Playoffs English.