Latest NBA champion and Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum just added “children’s book author” to his litany of accomplishments as he launched his new book “Baby Dunks-a-Lot,” inspired by his life as father to the six-year-old Jayson “Deuce” Tatum, Jr. Co-written with Sam Apple, the book also seems to throw a tongue-in-cheek reference to Tatum’s former Celtics teammate, Grant Williams, through a hilarious illustration.
As seen on this post by ClutchPoints’ Daniel Donabedian on X, formerly Twitter, the drawing depicts Jayson Tatum blocking a shot by a player who looks like Grant Williams, with Deuce in diapers looking on. Fans might be familiar with the illustration, referencing the game where Tatum blocks Williams’ jumpshot attempt.
The Celtics teammates
While this drawing is purely in good fun, it should also tickle kids who might not know who Tatum and Williams are. Likewise, Celtics fans would likely smile knowing that Tatum still remembers Williams fondly after he had left the team.
Meanwhile, Apple’s team approached Tatum with an idea to write the book two years ago, as they had noticed his close relationship with Deuce. Like many parents, Tatum also read to his son, an experience he wanted to share with the world.
“To share a piece of our routine and story with the rest of the world, I was super excited about it,” Tatum said, via Analisa Novak for CBSNews.com.
Parents could also relate to the father and son’s routine of playing on the court and taking naps. Moreover, Tatum had wanted his book to show his own experience as an African-American growing up in the United States.
The star wingman continued, “Representation was super important when creating this book and being organic and showing Black and brown children, that it’s possible to be in books.”
Asked about the Celtics’ 2025 title defense, Tatum also looked forward to the challenge.
“Our mindset is not, let’s win the championship again,” he said. “Let’s start over. Let’s get better every single day and not skip any steps. And that’s why we were successful last season.”
Team-hopping
Two seasons ago, the Mavericks acquired Grant Williams in a sign-and-trade worth $54 million, after he spent his first four seasons in the NBA with the Celtics. However, the Mavs traded Williams to the Charlotte Hornets just months after the deal, part of a series of trades that started their upward trajectory all the way to an NBA Finals appearance last season.
It didn’t help that the Williams didn’t play to the Mavericks’ expectations, averaging only 8.1 points and 3.6 rebounds on a mediocre 41.3% shooting percentage. With the trade, the versatile big man seems to have revitalized his career, increasing his numbers from 13.9 points and 5.1 rebounds on 50.3% shooting.
Playing well on a bad team should restore Williams’ value across the league, and many contenders might want to take a flyer on him if the Hornets continue to flounder next season.
