Day 2 of NBA All Star weekend in Chicago had the United Center buzzing with people. At 9AM on a Saturday, the arena was packed with employees, media and team personnel, children from the Boys & Girls Club, and NBA players with their families. Today was the league's beloved media day and all the stars of Sunday's game were in the building to answer questions, take as many pictures as humanly possible and then take some more.
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Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics settled into his seat at his respective table, ready to be interviewed. This was Jayson's first year as an All Star and he couldn't have been more thrilled but he also couldn't have been more nervous. Many people didn't think he'd make it here. Many didn't think Jayson had it in him to make the leap from good to superstar player.
They called him overrated, they called him soft, but Jayson never bought into the hype. He simply kept his eyes on the prize and showed the critics time and time again why he was nothing to fuck with and why he deserved to be named an All Star in the middle of his third season. Jayson sat shoulders back, head up high, but leaning forward some so he could hear the reporters over the noisy arena. He adjusted his players' exclusive 2020 All Star fitted on top of his freshly lined up fade and once Jayson was comfortable in his seat, the questions rang off.
"Jayson, first of all congratulations on your first All Star selection. How does it feel?"
"It feels great..uh you know..I- I'm really excited right now." The 6'9 forward fidgeted in his seat as he looked past the reporters into the sea of people to see if he could spot his mom and son. Those were the only two people who helped keep his anxious feelings at bay. It was true, he was excited to be there. He was just overwhelmed.
"Uh...it..it..it still doesn't feel real so, uh you know I'm just excited to be here." Jayson mentally kicked himself for the stuttering he had just exhibited. Him and his mother had been trying to shake him from the habit since he was 11 but it always seemed to haunt him when he had all eyes on him.
"Jayson, how does it feel to be the youngest all star this season?"
"Uh, it feels...amazing..."
The young man took a slight pause as his eyes got caught by a woman walking past with the most radiant dark brown skin he had ever laid his eyes on. She looked soft to the touch with the bright lights of the arena reflecting off of her skin and the gold jewelry adorning her ears and wrist.
The ponytail she styled allowed Jayson to capture her entire face with his eyes and digest her features. She was gorgeous and he could tell she knew it.
Strolling through the arena with her head high, she practically strutted through the crowd. From what JT could tell, she was at least 5'9, slim but with just enough hip to effortlessly sashay as she walked.
