BOSTON – St. Louis native Jayson Tatum reaches another milestone in his prolific basketball career. For the fifth consecutive year, he’s bound for the NBA All-Star Game.
The NBA officially announced Tatum’s fifth straight All-Star bid on Thursday evening. Fans voted him into this year’s starting lineup for the Eastern Conference.
Tatum received more than 4.8 million fan votes for the All-Star Game, only trailing LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. He also joins rare company as one of few players to earn five All-Star honors by their age-25 season.
“I never want to take it for granted,” Tatum told FanNation website Inside The Celtics. “As a kid, it was my dream. I watched All-Star Weekend every year growing up and just dreamed about one day being in the game. So, to be voted in as a starter, fifth year straight in the game, doesn’t seem real at times, thanks to all the fans.”
Tatum is averaging 27 points per game this season, ranking among the league’s Top 10 scorers. The forward reached the NBA Finals in 2022 and has helped the Boston Celtics advance to the playoffs in each of his first six NBA seasons.
Tatum graduated from Chaminade College Preparatory School in Creve Coeur and spent one season with a college hoops juggernaut in the Duke Blue Devils before his NBA debut in 2017.
His primary high school coach, Frank Bennett, told FOX 2 in 2022, “he’s a guy that has everything at his fingertips and is still a grounded, down-to-earth guy.”
Tatum has also paid tribute to his St. Louis roots through endorsements with Nike and Imo’s Pizza throughout the years.
The 2024 NBA All-Star Game is set for Feb. 18 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home of the Indiana Pacers and one of the closest NBA venues to St. Louis. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT, and TNT will carry the game broadcast.
