After the Celtics clinched their 18th NBA championship with a 106-88 win over the Mavericks in Monday's Game 5, Jayson Tatum went into full-blown tribute mode.
First, the Celtics star emulated Kevin Garnett's "Anything is possible!" yell from Boston's 2008 NBA title in addressing the crowd after the victory.
"We did it!" Tatum shouted into the TD Garden rafters.
🗣️ "WE DID IT!"
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 18, 2024
JAYSON TATUM. NBA CHAMP 🏆 pic.twitter.com/PUrOfKoLlA
After seeing that, many others believed he might do something similar to honor late NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who was Tatum's favorite player growing up.
Even before the Celtics' series-clinching win, there was buzz that Tatum would recreate Bryant's iconic locker room photo from the 2001 NBA Finals. The photo captured the Lakers star sitting on a bench clad in a championship hat while holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy and staring at the ground.
While Tatum took plenty of photos in the Celtics' locker room after the victory, none were quite a carbon copy of Kobe's. He did, however, have one with some similarities to the iconic shot of his idol.
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Jayson Tatum-Kobe Bryant picture, explained
The picture that sparked a debate about Tatum going over the top in emulating Bryant came in the locker room.
Tatum hugged the Larry O'Brien Trophy to his chest while leaning against a wall. Like Bryant, he was looking at the ground and smiling; he also looked fatigued, just as his favorite player did after winning the NBA title.
There were plenty of differences between the two pictures. Most notably, Tatum wasn't alone. He was spending some quality time with his son Deuce when the snapshot was captured.
Below is a look at the photo of Tatum from Monday:
All jokes and memes apart, congratulations to Jayson Tatum and the Celtics.
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) June 18, 2024
While he did not do it, he'd have been the best player to recreate the Kobe pic by far... pic.twitter.com/thTmmBMCvJ
And here's a look at Kobe's big moment from two-plus decades ago:
23 years ago today 🏆 pic.twitter.com/N4sCpV7SxB
— Kobe Bryant Stories & Motivation (@kobehighlight) June 15, 2024
Are there some similarities between the two photos? Yes, and there's enough there to consider Tatum's picture a spiritual sequel to Kobe's.
Add in that Tatum has recreated some of Bryant's most memorable moments as the 26-year-old has achieved milestones with the Celtics and it's easy to see why many were quick to call out Tatum as a copycat.
Still, while Tatum's post-Finals picture has similar vibes to Bryant's, Celtics fans aren't likely to harp on those details. They'll remember the moment for what it meant for the organization: an end to the Celtics' 16-year championship drought.
