Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum benefit from time spent with basketball idols

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CANTON, Mass. – At every level of play, Jayson Tatum had moves with the ball, without the ball and finishing at the rim that served as a reminder that his favorite player at the time – and to this day, really – was Kobe Bryant.

Jaylen Brown had a strong affinity for Tracy McGrady.

Not only have both met their basketball idols, but they had a chance to workout with them this past summer, the kind of lessons that may very well pay off handsomely for them as well as the Boston Celtics this season.

There were a number of players that Tatum worked out with this summer.

But Bryant?

That workout was in a class of its own.

“Kobe asked me to work out; my favorite player,” Tatum said. “So, he was at the top of the list.”

As far as the workout itself …

“It was one of the cooler basketball experiences of my life,” Tatum said. “Just to have the interaction with him on a real personal level. I still have to go look at the pictures to remind myself that it actually happened. It was very helpful.”

Brown has similar feelings about the time he spent with McGrady this summer.

“I watched him growing up, patterned my game after him,” Brown said of McGrady, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer. “Being able to talk to him and him invite me out, it meant the world to me.”

Brown said the 6-foot-8 McGrady’s role as a big guard who could handle the ball and score, were among the qualities he tried to instill within his game.

“And him talking to me about some of those ups and downs he experienced throughout his career, he gave me a lot of good advice in terms of keep working,” said the 6-7 Brown who added, “And … focus on the task at hand and continue to do that.”

As we saw at times last season, both Tatum and Brown showed they have the talent and promise to someday be among the better players in the NBA.

Both selected with the third overall pick by Boston in the 2016 (Brown) and 2017 (Tatum) drafts, respectively, there are indeed high expectations for success placed upon both.

Both understand that they are far from a finished body of work and need to keep getting better.

That improvement involves more than practice and hitting the weight room.

It requires reaching out at times to those who have achieved what you are striving for.

Kobe Bryant, a future Hall of Famer, will continue to be a voice in Tatum’s ear going forward, offering advice and tips to one of his biggest fans.

And McGrady, he too has a willing ear to his words of encouragement and advice, in Brown.

Meeting someone you look up to is always very cool.

Having them serve as a mentor of sorts?

That’s even cooler.

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