Jayson Tatum’s fantasy gamble on Patrick Mahomes turned into unexpected setback

Jayson Tatum is not usually one to talk about the NFL, but Wednesday marked such a rate instance for him. And as it turns out, he had a rather sizable failure when playing fantasy football.

The Boston Celtics forward was the featured guest on Jason and Travis Kelce's "New Heights" podcast, and he had an admission about his first time playing fantasy football. He had two leagues, and one of them had Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

But apparently, it did not go well for him.

"In one league, I had Pat," Tatum said (Timestamp: 1:04:16). "I didn't understand all about fantasy football. ... And nothing but respect for you and Pat. But it's like, it didn't work out. It didn't work out."

---

Jayson Tatum weighs in on whether NBA stars can succeed in the NFL and vice versa

Obviously, the NFL and the NBA are vastly different leagues that each require different playing skills. But across the board, the athletic attributes needed are largely the same: high jumping, fast running and the like.

The likes of Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Paul George have had their thoughts on this NFL vs. NBA debate. And Jayson Tatum is the newest one to do so. He said about NBA players succeeding in football:

"The guys that get on TV and be like, 'You could just take this guy from the NBA and throw him in the game this Sunday'? No, it does not work like that. There are a handful of guys that play in the NBA that, if they had an entire summer or a year to train and prepare, could they make an impact? For sure. But just drop a guy from the NBA and throw him in? No shot."

But regarding the inverse, he was less optimistic:

"I got so much respect for you guys and what you guys do. But there's nothing funnier than watching football guys play basketball, I'll say that. There's always a video that comes up on Twitter of somebody in the NFL, their high school (basketball) highlights ... and it's like, 'He could've been.' ... And it's like, nah, I think they chose the right sport."

Some examples of NFL players who did basketball in college before entering the gridiron are tight ends Antonio Gates, Mo-Alie Cox and Chriz Manhertz.