Player Bio

Jayson Christopher Tatum was born in St. Louis to Brandy Cole and Justin Tatum. His father Justin played college basketball at Saint Louis University. Jayson averaged 29.5 points and 9.1 rebounds during his senior season at Chaminade College Preparatory School. Afterward, he was named 2016 Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year, Gatorade National Player, a Naismith Award finalist, a Naismith Trophy All-American, a MaxPreps All-American and USA Today All-USA First Team pick. He is the leader and founder of The Jayson Tatum Foundation (www.TheJaysonTatumFoundation.org), headquartered in St. Louis. Each year, the foundation sponsors approximately 100 boys and girls to attend an all-expenses paid one-day summer Basketball Camp and Leadership Program. Learn more about the forward @jaytatum0 on both instagram and twitter. Jayson Tatum played one year at Duke before declaring for the NBA Draft. During his lone season (2016-17), the 18-year-old produced 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per contest. He delivered those stats while sharing the court with five other players who would go on to have NBA careers. Tatum was one of five finalists for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award. He earned USBWA All-District III honors, was a third-team All-ACC selection and a member of the ACC All-Freshman Team. Tatum missed the first eight games of the season with a foot injury. For the season, Tatum ranked fifth in the ACC in free-throw percentage (.849), seventh in defensive rebounds (6.0), 10th in total rebounds (7.3) and 12th in scoring (16.8). Tatum's Blue Devils made it to the NCAA Tournament but lost in the second round.