Jayson Tatum: Hiding Girlfriends pregnancy from the NBA | Trending Now

Three-time NBA All-Star Jayson Tatum looks back on surprising pregnancy news from his high school girlfriend, shortly before he entered into the NBA Draft. Jayson remembers fearfully hiding the news, as he believed it might impact his draft stock. Plus, he shares the stories of first telling his then-Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens the news, and calling his mom Brandy at 3 a.m. to let her in on the secret. Jayson says the birth of his son Deuce quickly shifted his perspective and he immediately decided “nothing else matters” beyond caring for his child.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Hey guys, Graham here. It's Friday, which means we get
to share with you another one ofour most popular clips from a
past interview. The clip you're about to hear is
trending on our Instagram right now.
Hope you enjoy this week, Jason Tatum.
You just turned 19. Your high school girlfriend

(00:22):
tells you she's pregnant. What's your reaction?
I like, I stick to my stomach because this was a week or two
before school was ending. So in my mind, I'm like, I'm
about to leave Duke, get ready for the draft, live my life,

(00:44):
like have a blast. And then it's like, you know,
you about to have a kid. I was selfish at first,
honestly. Like I was more worried about
getting drafted than I was aboutbeing a dad because my whole
life I dreamed about going to NBA and the best day of my life
was two months away. I didn't tell anybody.

(01:06):
Like I didn't tell my teammates,the coaches or anything.
And you? Were really concerned about that
at first, right? Like sharing that with anybody
you worked with. I didn't want it to impact where
I got drafted. I thought that if teams knew I
was about to have a kid, they were going to think I wasn't
focused and that they wouldn't pick me.
So I was terrified. I didn't want anybody to know,
which was extremely selfish. So I remember I told Brad

(01:29):
Stevens, like, I remember we were on the plane and one of the
trainers knew and he was like, have you told Brad yet?
I was like, no, I need to tell Brad, 'cause I'm like, I don't
really know these people yet. Like, why would I tell them this
private information? He's like, well, isn't she due
like next week? I'm like, yeah.

(01:49):
He's like, you might miss a game.
I'm like, oh, so I go in the back of the plane.
I'm like, Brad, I don't know howto say this, but I might miss a
game next week. He was like, what's wrong?
I was like, I'm expecting the child.
He was like, oh really? And I was like, yeah, she lives

(02:10):
in Boston. She's due next week.
So I just wanted to tell you he was real supportive.
What did your mom say on that 3:00 AM call you guys had when
you first told her? I was like Maya, you by
yourself. She like, I'm with Jake, he's
sleep. I'm like, I got to tell you
something. And I was like, you know, she's
pregnant. And my whole life my mom had me

(02:32):
at 19, so she didn't want me to have a kid at 19.
She know how hard it was. And her mom had her young.
She could tell how nervous I wasand how like scared I was in
that moment. I remember she was like, it's
going to be all right, we'll figure it out, just get some
sleep. And that made me feel at ease.
He changed your life how? He made me grow up faster and

(02:52):
mature because with all his new found, you know, fame and
success and money at 19, that's a lot to handle.
But I wouldn't change it for theworld.
It motivates me seeing him come to all the games, practice,
watch me work out, you know, he motivates me to be the best
player, the best father, the best role model that I could be.
When he came out and I held him for the first time, instantly my

(03:17):
whole perspective changed and I was just like, oh, nothing else
matters. Nothing else matters but taking
care of him. And that's this week's fan
favorite. To see more popular videos, go
to [e-mail]/graham
Bensinger.