Rumors

Of the eight rejected bids, only two (Houston and Charlotte, N.C.) were backed by NBA team owners. The other six (St. Louis; Kansas City, Mo.; Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; Miami; and Denver) sent proposals without support from NBA ownership. While Miami and Denver have NBA teams, the ownership was not involved in the WNBA bid.

Sportico

Tatum, 27, hails from St. Louis, Missouri, where he learned from his father, Justin, the importance – or, better yet, the infatuation – of regularly getting his hair cut. The former Saint Louis University basketball star told Andscape there was a time during his son’s youth that he went to the barber twice a week, which included getting a lining during one sitting and a haircut the other. So, like father, like son, Jayson eventually got infatuated with having a fresh haircut. “My dad definitely introduced me to the barbershop,” Jayson said. “And like most kids, I didn’t like getting my hair cut. But around 12, 13, 14 age range was, you start to have some different interests. Getting my hair cut definitely became a priority. I eventually started getting my hair cut more than he did.”

Andscape

Marc J. Spears: Today, The Jayson Tatum Foundation and SoFi announced the creation of a $2 million commitment toward advancing financial literacy and building long-term family wealth in St. Louis. It will help 100 St. Louis families gain homeownership with down payment & closing cost assistance. pic.x.com/t5qQYOKnVe

Twitter

The Lakers, who had the No. 2 pick, were noticeably absent. Tatum, whose childhood bedroom in St. Louis doubled as a Kobe Bryant shrine, felt snubbed. "That was kind of devastating," Tatum told the Club 520 Podcast, hosted by Jeff Teague, in November. He'd hoped to accomplish one of two goals in the draft, sources told ESPN: either go No. 1 or be selected by the Lakers to follow in Bryant's footsteps, just a year after the all-time great retired from the league. Neither happened. Instead, Tatum ended up in green and white -- at the No. 3 pick. The Celtics moved down in the draft and still got the player they wanted -- the player who has become a cornerstone in their rise back to the top of the league, and who just last summer helped them take back the lead in the category these storied franchises value most: championships.

ESPN

Other known WNBA independent expansion candidates -- besides Austin, Nashville and St. Louis -- are Jacksonville and Kansas City. SBJ has learned that Des Moines, the hometown of Fever star Caitlin Clark, has had very informal discussions about pursuing a team at some point -- not in this expansion round -- but has no serious investors and may be priced out by the climbing $200M sales figure. The 15th WNBA franchise in Portland just paid $125M, which now appears to be a bargain.

Sports Business Journal

Fresh from securing the NBA’s largest contract in history, Tatum has reportedly set his sights on a $200 million bid to bring a WNBA franchise to St. Louis – a decision that could reshape the landscape of women’s professional basketball in the Midwest.

essence.com

With competition heating up for ownership of the WNBA’s upcoming 16th franchise, a billionaire-backed bid to bring top-level pro women’s basketball to St. Louis has support from Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. Tatum has informally agreed to invest in the team should it come to fruition and contribute behind the scenes to the group’s pitch, both to other potential big-name investors and the league itself, according to sources involved with the bid. Tatum’s involvement is made possible by a change in the latest NBA collective bargaining agreement, ratified in April 2023, which allows players to own up to 4% of WNBA franchises. LeBron James and Stephen Curry are among the active stars who have discussed their interest in investing in the league, though no such deal has been made public yet.

Sportico

Now entering his eighth year in Boston, the St. Louis native feels at home in Beantown and is appreciative of how much the city and franchise have given him on and off the court. “Time flies,” Tatum said. “I was drafted in 2017… My son was born here. I bought my first car here. And for me, I admire and love the relationships I’ve built within the organization, all the coaches that I’ve had, obviously, the front office, security guards, trainers, chefs, the fans, the people that work at the Garden, the ball boys that do our laundry. The relationships I’ve built over the last seven, eight years, I can’t imagine starting over and leaving them or this place. “Obviously, it’s a lot of more and I’m grateful for all that has come my way. But more so, they want me to be here. I understand that I got a footprint in helping build the Celtics legacy. A small part that I feel like I’m a part of. There are a bunch of 10-year-olds in Boston who will feel like I’m a part of their childhood. ‘I grew up watching him play at the Garden. I grew up watching him win championships.’ In a sports town like Boston, that’s special to be a part of.”

Andscape

It was Oct. 2, 1968. In St. Louis, Bob Gibson and the Cardinals squared off against Denny McLain and the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the World Series. In Denver, Broncos coach Lou Saban announced that Marlin Briscoe would start Sunday’s AFL game against the Bengals, making Briscoe the first Black quarterback to start in the Super Bowl era. A preseason basketball game in Flagstaff hardly registered, but it provided a glimpse of what the NBA, then a league of two divisions and 14 teams, was like six decades ago. The night started with the Suns and Lakers sharing a bus from the hotel to the gym. It ended with Chamberlain, riding back to Phoenix with injured Suns forward David Lattin, changing a tire off of Interstate 17, a moment hard to believe and a story seldom shared.

New York Times

Jayson Tatum has had an action-packed summer, with adventures from Paris to St. Louis and more. His latest stop is China, where he participated in the China Family Tour via Jordan Brand. Tatum joined fellow NBA stars Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, and Paolo Banchero in Shanghai and Beijing.

Boston Globe

Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk are fresh off winning championships last season for their respective franchises. Months later, the former high school classmates reunited in St. Louis for an important task -- re-creating a photo they took together growing up. The Boston Celtics and Florida Panthers stars were classmates at Chaminade Prep, a small Catholic school in St. Louis. Tkachuk even appeared in a video for Tatum's class project.

ESPN

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and Florida Panthers standout Matthew Tkachuk are not only St. Louis natives, but they went the same prep school as children. When the St. Louis Cardinals welcomed the two to throw out ceremonial first pitches on Sunday, it was only appropriate to have them recreate a viral photo from their school days. Tkachuk and Tatum were the subjects of a long-circulating photo from their middle school days, as both of them attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis. They recreated that photo on Sunday, and they even recruited the third classmate that had photobombed them to make the picture complete.

Larry Brown Sports

NBA star and St. Louis native Bradley Beal was on hand in Chesterfield this morning for the unveiling of The Beal Center. The Beal Center is the new name of the Chesterfield Sports Complex that opened in March 2023. Beal, a Chaminade grad, currently plays for the Phoenix Suns.

spectrumlocalnews.com

Chris Haynes: Undrafted free agent point guard Yuri Collins out of St. Louis will play Summer League for the Golden State Warriors, sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport. Collins averaged 10.1 assists last season.

Twitter