May 12, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) looks to pass in the second half during game four of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Celtics' Jayson Tatum Says 2 Lakers Stars Belong in NBA Top 5 of All-Time

Originally posted on Boston Celtics on SI | By Jason Fray | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 11:00 AM ET

Jayson Tatum's path into becoming an NBA champion was somewhat of an unconventional one when it came to fandom.

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The star Boston Celtics player grew up in Missouri — a state without a professional basketball team, and weirdly situated in a region where the closest NBA teams (Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies) are literally states away.

Building a fandom for a team or players truly stems from loving more so than just being borne out of location convenience. As Tatum has said in various interviews, the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was his idol growing up (something much to the chagrin of Boston fans).

As such, when prompted to answer who Tatum would have in his top five of all-time, Bryant was securely on his list.

“I will say anybody that don't have MJ, LeBron, Kobe in their top 5, I have a hard time listening to… Them 3 are cemented in.”

— Jayson Tatum

(via @mworthofgame, h/t @MrBuckBuckNBA)pic.twitter.com/o2HvTZOE0j
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 17, 2025

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"I will say anybody that don't have [Michael Jordan], [LeBron James] and Kobe in their top five...I really have a tough time listening to them. I think [numbers] four and five is very interchangeable. Those three are cemented."

For most players in this generation and the one previously, Bryant was the alpha player in the post-Jordan era. He was the most like Jordan in all aspects, and likely will be for the remainder of time given their respective competitiveness and skill-sets.

Including James also makes sense given that he's been an NBA icon dating back to when he came into the league more than 20 years ago as the supposed heir apparent to Jordan.

Jayson Tatum wearing a Kobe 24 armband in Game 7 pic.twitter.com/en4nIjbKAQ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 30, 2022

James has more than lived up to the hype given that he's going to likely finish atop most of the major statistically categories once done playing. He's also gone head-to-head with Tatum as the Missouri native has taken the next step in emerging as one of the game's most prominent stars.

It may irk Celtics fans a tad that Tatum's top-three includes two Lakers and a villainous Chicago Bulls monster that was a major thorn in the side of some of the franchise's best teams.

At the same time, given Tatum's standing as one of the best wings/point forwards in the game today, it only makes sense that he would idolize three of the best non-big men to ever play in the history of the sport.