Jayson Tatum says he could ‘easily’ play long enough to be in NBA with his son

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum’s son Deuce is only eight years old, so he probably has at least 10 years of aging to do before he would even be eligible to play in an NBA game. However, the elder Tatum thinks he could “easily” stick around in the league long enough to potentially play with his son.

It’s worth noting that 10 years from now, the elder Tatum will be 37 years old, and there have been numerous folks over the years who have played in the league at that advanced (at least by NBA standards) age.

Star forward LeBron James made headlines last season for playing with his son Bronny on the Los Angeles Lakers. The younger James was drafted by the Lakers with the No. 55 overall pick back in the 2024 NBA Draft, and it appears the elder Tatum would embrace an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the James duo when it comes to playing with family in the NBA.

Sharing the court with his son one day would only add to the elder Tatum’s already impressive resume that includes an NBA championship, six All-Star appearances and five All-NBA selections.

But the elder Tatum needs to do a solid job of staying out of harm’s way over the next decade or so if he wants to be able to have a chance to share the floor with his son. The former lottery pick hasn’t played in a long time due to an Achilles injury. For much of his career, he had been an iron man, but he suffered a devastating injury in the 2025 playoffs that has kept him out of action this season.

The Celtics, however, have done a commendable job of maintaining the team’s longtime status quo of competitiveness in his absence. A Boston team that looks a whole lot different than it did when it won a title in 2024 is 12-9 on the campaign and picked up wins over the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers in its last two games. It can extend its current winning streak to three games with a victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday as well.