Jayson Tatum’s Game 7 homage to Kevin Garnett appeared to inspire more than just Celtics fans on Monday, as the NBA Hall of Famer took to Twitter to shout out the star forward prior to Boston’s pivotal matchup against the Heat.
Tatum arrived ahead of the Eastern Conference finals finale at TD Garden wearing a KG-inspired jacket featuring the former Celtics star’s iconic “Anything is possible” quote from the 2008 NBA Finals. His attire was not only a clever callback to a great Celtics moment, but it also served as a message of motivation to the team and city with Boston hoping to become the first team to overcome a 3–0 playoff deficit.
As the video of Tatum’s pregame fit went viral, Garnett, as only he can, responded to the four-time All-Star with a tweet thanking him for the tribute and encouraging him to pull out all the stops in Game 7.
“[Salute emoji] @jaytatum0 ! Appreciate you, now go do game 7 s--- killa!” wrote Garnett.
🫡 @jaytatum0 ! Appreciate you, now go do game 7 shyt killa! https://t.co/l3HVTYki9T
— Kevin Garnett (@KevinGarnett5KG) May 29, 2023
As a member of the Celtics during six of his 22 NBA seasons, Garnett knows very well what it would mean for Tatum and Co. to make history in front of their home fans on Monday night. The legendary big man also understands Tatum is more than capable of carrying the Celtics with a clutch Game 7 effort, much like he did with his 51-point effort over the 76ers in the East semifinals.
Needless to say, Tatum, with Garnett’s famous words adding extra motivation, will surely have plenty of extra fuel added to his competitive fire as Boston looks to shock the world and advance to a second-straight NBA Finals.
