Jayson Tatum may not have been the first player drafted from the 2017 class, but he sure looks to have superstar potential, and when it’s all said and done, he might go on to have the most successful career of the bunch.
His Celtics teammate Kyrie Irving, however, was a former No. 1 draft pick, as the Cavs began the 2011 draft by selecting the Duke product. Irving has proved worthy of the top pick, as he currently has the best handles in the NBA, and has been known to put opposing players on skates quite often.
The two teammates were featured in a funny exchange at Thursday’s Celtics Shamrock Foundation Gala, when Irving poked fun at Tatum for not being the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft. Tatum fired back with a great response, though — essentially placing the blame on Celtics president Danny Ainge.
Jayson Tatum ribbing Kyrie Irving about only playing 11 games at Duke. Kyrie fires back that he was No. 1 pick.
Tatum deadpans: “It’s Danny’s fault I didn’t go No. 1.”
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) October 12, 2018
Ainge did trade down last year, but the team still wound up with Tatum, and was also able to pick up a 2019 first-round pick (from either the Sixers or the Kings) in return. The trade gave the Sixers the No. 1 overall pick, and also worked out extremely well for the Celtics.
And, to his credit, Ainge did say he’d have taken Tatum No. 1 overall, which, at this time, looks to be a wiser choice than Markelle Fultz.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
