Jayson Tatum has had a busy summer, with the Celtics star winning his first NBA title with Boston, taking home his second Olympic gold medal with Team USA, and even landing on the cover of NBA 2K25.
Now, the 26-year-old forward can also add author to his growing list of achievements.
Tatum recently released a new children’s picture book, “Baby Dunks-a-Lot,” which the reigning champion said was inspired by his own relationship with his six-year-old son, Jayson “Deuce” Tatum Jr.
The book — co-written by Sam Apple — tells the story of a baby who learns that he can dunk, leading to a standout career in the NBA (even if he needs to account for nap time before games).
“I have to give a lot of credit to the author, Sam Apple, him and his team came to my team two years ago with the idea, and it was kind of based on the relationship that I have with my son, and like many parents around the world who read children’s books to their kids at nighttime,” Tatum said during an interview on CBS Tuesday. “That’s just something that we did that was part of our routine, and to share a piece of our routine and story with the rest of the world, I was super excited about it.”
For Tatum, another emphasis with his book was to make sure the illustrations painted an accurate portrayal of what it was like for him playing basketball while growing up in St. Louis.
“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,” Tatum noted.
Along with the illustrations of Tatum and “Baby Dunks-A-Lot,” there are several cameos of other NBA stars like LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, and Steph Curry featured in the book.
Tatum also managed to throw a jab in against former Celtics teammate and current Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams — with a look-a-like NBA player resembling Williams getting his shot blocked by Tatum and “Baby Dunks-A-Lot”.
Williams — who was called a “great teammate” by Tatum in March amid criticism that he was a “bad locker room guy” — both entertained and annoyed Tatum during his time in Boston, such as when he dressed up as Batman after a game.
But it seems like Tatum has the last laugh on Williams with his new book.
