Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum showed some support for his alma mater, Duke, ahead of March Madness. Prior to the start of the tournament, Tatum, who played one season at Duke from 2016-17, sent pairs of his Jordan Brand shoes to each player on the Duke women’s basketball team.
Blue Devils coach Kara Lawson announced the gift to the team saying Tatum is her favorite NBA player because he’s a winner. She went on to say: “I admired him. He admires you guys too. He sent you some of his shoes.”
our guy @jaytatum0 always getting us right pic.twitter.com/rdDbOjVvbu
— Duke Women’s Basketball (@DukeWBB) March 19, 2025
The team cheered in response to the gesture from Tatum. Duke guard Emma Koabel was seen saying, “thank you!”
Guard Taina Mair said, “Ay, special shoutout to Jayson Tatum for sending some shoes. The home team baby! We appreciate it! Thank you.”
Duke is making their third consecutive March Madness appearance and holds a No. 2 seed as they seek their first national championship win. They will make their 2025 NCAA Tournament debut on Friday against No. 15 Lehigh. If they win, they will go on to face the winner of Oregon-Vanderbilt next.
The men’s team, ranked highly as well as a No. 1 seed, will also play their first game of the tournament on Friday, going up against No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s.
