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Celtics' Jayson Tatum Talks Famous Dunk on LeBron James During 2018 NBA Playoffs
May 11, 2020
It's not often a play made by someone on the losing team in Game 7 of a playoff series lives on longer than any play made from the winning team, especially when that winning team has LeBron James.
But that was the case in Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.
Boston's Jayson Tatum attacked the basket and posterized James with a one-handed slam to bring the Celtics within two in the fourth quarter. As if that wasn't enough, he let the King know about it and bumped him before going back on defense.
Tatum addressed the play on SHOWTIME Basketball with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, saying, "I see the dunk every day" with people tagging him in the highlight on social media (36-minute mark). He also revealed he and his parents all have posters of the dunk.
The Celtics swingman said everything slowed down as he was driving toward the rim when he thought to himself, "I gotta try to dunk it" after he saw James.
To LeBron's credit, he ultimately led the Cavaliers to the victory in the series, but it was a memorable moment for the rookie Tatum that surely served as something of a springboard for his confidence.
He is now Boston's go-to scoring option on a team that also features Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward.