BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – MAY 29: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics dribbles during the second quarter against the Miami Heat in game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 29, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts.

A viral rumor has some NBA fans believing that Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is set to change his name.

Tatum has made no secret about idolizing the late Kobe Bryant and trained with the Los Angeles Lakers legend after getting drafted. The forward has also admitted modeling his game after The Black Mamba’s and he’s shown lots of similarities on the court.

 

He famously wore a purple “24” armband to honor Kobe during Game 7 of the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference finals.

“That was my idol”, he told reporters after the game. “That was my inspiration, that was my favorite player. I wanted to wear that armband to honor him and kind of share that moment.”

While most NBA fans love that Tatum admires Kobe as much as he does, some think it’s a little cheesy. And, with a tweet coming out from the NBA Centel Twitter account claiming the Celtics player is about to legally change his name to “Kobe Bryant,” some fans went off.

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The post has garnered 3.5 million views and, at the time of writing, had 32,000 likes.

The post sources popular NBA insider Chris Haynes but is obviously fake. NBACentel is a parody account that has fooled many fans into believing it’s the NBACentral account, a legitimate social media news provider.

Tatum, who texted the deceased Bryant before said Game 7, is clearly obsessed. But he’s not changing his name to Kobe Bryant.