Why did Jayson Tatum choose number 0 as his kit number?

Jayson Tatum is one of the best NBA players of the 2022-23 season. He's having another fantastic year and is averaging career-highs in points, rebounds and assists, which is very impressive.

Tatum wears the number 0 on his jersey, joining several other popular players to don this number. Damian Lillard is arguably the best scorer to currently wear the number 0, while Russell Westbrook is also very popular and very good.

However, it wasn't Lillard or Westbrook that inspired Tatum to wear this jersey number. The Boston Celtics superstar had different idols growing up, including Bradley Beal and Gilbert Arenas.

---

Jayson Tatum chose his jersey number because of his idol

Tatum was born in St. Louis, Missouri and attended Chaminade College Preparatory School, where he became a stand-out player. During his high school days, the Boston Celtics star looked up to Bradley Beal, who was a few years older than him.

Beal was in the 12th grade, while Tatum was in seventh. At the time, Tatum wore the number 22 on his jersey, but he was not allowed to wear this number at Duke University because of Jay Williams. Due to this, the young star changed his number to 0.

It turns out that Jayson Tatum was not only influenced by Bradley Beal, but also by Gilbert Arenas, another Washington Wizards superstar. Arenas was nicknamed Agent Zero and he wore the number 0 on the back of his jersey.

You may be interested in reading: Paul George calls Jayson Tatum MVP candidate - “He could have very well been satisfied with that”

Jay Williams is a former NBA player who played at Duke from 1999 to 2002. He was so good that the team decided to retire his number once he left college. Due to this, Tatum was not allowed to wear it.

Tatum wears the number 0 because of Gilbert Arenas (Image via Getty Images)

Jayson Tatum was drafted in 2017, a few years after Arenas retired. However, the 6-foot-4 guard was so good at his peak that he's inspired many other players. Arenas was a lethal scorer who averaged 25.0 points per game with the Washington Wizards.

Agent Zero was well known for knocking down long-range shots long before Steph Curry and other exceptional shooters changed the league. However, he faced serious consequences for bringing a gun to the locker room and was out of the league shortly after.

Arenas was a fantastic scorer during his prime (Image via Getty Images)

It's interesting that no NBA team has retired the number 0. Due to this, even if Tatum changes his team in the future, he will be able to keep his jersey number.

You may be interested in reading: How did the Jayson Tatum "Tie a Tie" video originate? Exploring roots of the viral trend that took the internet for a ride

However, it is very unlikely that Tatum will change teams anytime soon. He's turned the Boston Celtics into one of the best teams in the league and his contract runs through the summer of 2026.