BOSTON — Celtics star Jayson Tatum made sure a young fan had a birthday that they’ll never forget Thursday night.
After helping lead the Celtics to a 122-102 victory over the Wizards in Washington D.C. on Thursday, Tatum saw a young fan in the crowd with a sign asking for his autograph. It was the boy’s birthday and he was asking Tatum to sign his No. 0 Celtics jersey.
Tatum did him one better. He motioned for the boy to meet him near the court, and then gave him the sneakers off his feet. Tatum also posed for a picture with the young fan, who jumped for joy after his exchange with the Celtics star.
The sneakers are Tatum’s new Jordan Brand Tatum 3s, and they look like the same ones he wore in Tuesday night’s season-opening win over the Knicks at TD Garden. The kicks had the names of Tatum’s sons, Deuce and Dylan, written on the side.
The sneakers should still be pretty new, as Tatum didn’t play in the fourth quarter in either game so far this season.
Jayson Tatum joins Larry Bird in NBA record books
Despite not playing the final frame on Thursday night, Tatum still put up some big numbers for Boston. He poured in 25 points off 9-of-20 shooting to go with 11 rebounds and six assists.
Add Thursday night’s output to Tatum’s stats from Tuesday — when he had 37 points, 10 assists, and four rebounds — and it puts the 26-year-old in an extremely exclusive group in NBA history. Tatum joined Larry Bird as the only two forwards in league history to score at least 62 points, pull down 15 rebounds, and dish out 16 assists in a season’s first two games, according to Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe.