You can insult his shooting form, but don’t insult his watch collection.
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was nearly left speechless after a reporter recently insulted his very expensive Richard Mille watch.
Tatum signed the NBA’s largest supermax contract in history earlier this yearGetty
At a post-match press conference in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, a reporter told the Team USA Olympic gold medalist that his luxury timepiece looks like a “kid’s watch”.
“I have to ask this, is that a real watch you’re wearing?” the journalist asked. “It looks like a kid’s watch or something.”
Tatum, sitting next to Celtics guard Derrick White, appeared stunned by the question and put both hands on the side of his face.
He looked to his teammate in bemusement before uttering, “That was crazy.”
Unbeknown to the reporter, Tatum was rocking an RM 07-01 Pastel Lavender Richard Mille watch — part of the Colored Ceramics collection the luxury Swiss watchmaking brand released in September 2023.
The luxury timepiece, which is labeled as a ladies’ model, is valued at $205,000 and is inspired by the Memphis Group, an Italian design and architecture collective founded in the 1980s that created abstract and postmodern pieces.
The collection comes in sky blue, cotton candy pink, or lavender, the latter of which Jayson sported.
The dials showcase an array of triangles, circles, rectangles, and half moons. Each shape features ceramic, rubber, diamonds, or guilloché decorations to make the playfully colored pieces really pop.
The ostentatious watch may cost a small fortune but that’s relative chump change to reigning NBA champion Tatum.
The 26-year-old recently signed a five-year, $314 million contract extension — the largest supermax contract in NBA history.
The Celtics star was stunned by the reporter’s questionX@WorldWideWob
He turned to his teammate and said ‘this is crazy’X@WorldWideWob
The abstract Richard Mille watches are worth a reported $205,000Richard Mille
The new pact, which sees Tatum become the newest member of the NBA’s $300 million club, will begin with the 2025-26 season and keep the five-time All-Star in Boston through the 2029-30 season.
Tatum’s Celtics have been in Abu Dhabi recently for two preseason game against the Denver Nuggets.
The Boston forward finished with 11 points in the first match-up, a 107-103 victory.
The C’s then completed the preseason sweep of Denver after blowing them out 130-104.
Tatum finished with 17 points on 6-14 shooting, while going 3-7 from deep in 23 minutes.
Tatum’s shooting form has been the subject of much discussion over the years, but reports from the Middle East suggest he’s ironed out those issues.
Despite winning the 2024 NBA Championship, Tatum had a mixed summer with Team USA Basketball.
Tatum and the Celtics have been in Abu Dhabi for two preseason games against the Denver NuggetsGetty
He barely featured at the Paris Games and watched most of the action from the bench as Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBron James led the US to gold.
Tatum now returns to the loaded Celtics with thoughts of a second straight title on his mind.
Boston are the early favorites for the 2025 title and would become the first team to win back-to-back chips since the Golden State Warriors did it with Durant in 2017-18.
The defending champs get the 2024-25 regular season underway against the New York Knicks on October 22.
Before that, they will have a short break while they make the trip back to North America to face the Philadelphia 76ers in a preseason game at TD Garden on October 12.