“This dude deserves so much hate”: Jayson Tatum wearing Kobe Bryant armband against Lakers has Celtics fans divided

Jayson Tatum was one of the last younger NBA stars to train with Kobe Bryant before the latter's tragic death. After Tatum was seen wearing an armband paying a tribute to his former mentor, fans of the two historic franchises were left divided.

On Christmas Day, the Boston Celtics squared off against the LA Lakers as part of the high-profile series of games. Since he was facing-off against Kobe's longtime team, Jayson Tatum decided to pay homage. During the matchup, he was wearing a purple and gold armband with the number 24 on it.

This dude deserves so much hate byu/AirJordan6124 innbacirclejerk

After seeing this choice of attire, fans quickly stated chiming in with their thoughts. As expected, many did not like the decision due to the rivalry between these franchises.

Despite being one of the NBA's top stars, some feel he is irrelevant outside of the city of Boston. Others feel he is trying to hard to be like Kobe, somone Tatum grew up idolizing before making it to the league.

Via Reddit

Via Reddit

This is not the first time Jayson Tatum has done something to honor Kobe. When he first heard the news about his death, he took to Instagram to keep his memory alive. The Celtics star posted a picture of the two of them from when he was kid, stating the he was the reason he decided to play basketball in the first place.

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How did Jayson Tatum perform against the LA Lakers on Christmas Day?

Aside from a rough night shooting from the three, Jayson Tatum put together a solid outing against the LA Lakers on Christmas Day. He was the Boston Celtics' second-leading scorer with 25 points to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists.

Tatum had an all-around performance, but Kristaps Porzingis was the key name in the victory. He led the team in scoring (28 points) en route to finishing with a double-double (11 rebounds). Anthony Davis was the overall top performer in this star-studded matchup, but his 40-point barrage wasn't enough to propel the Lakers to victory.

With this win, Boston once again has the best record in the NBA at 23-6. Having a strong performance against LeBron James on Christmas Day also helps Tatum's MVP case. In the first quarter of the season, the four-time All-Star is averaging 26.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

Fans might not want to admit it, but there is a lot of Kobe's style in the way Tatum plays. Between the way he breaks down defenders one-on-one to his ability to score in the mid-range, there is a lot of the Lakers' legend in the young superstar.