As the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks lock horns in a heated Round 2 battle of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, one matchup carries a deeper backstory than just basketball. Jayson Tatum and OG Anunoby—two of the league’s premier two-way wings—share more than elite talent. They share roots.
Before they were household names, Tatum and Anunoby were AAU teammates on the St. Louis Eagles in 2012, a squad now known as Bradley Beal Elite. The Eagles weren’t just another travel team—they were a proving ground. And back then, it was a pair of skinny, hardworking kids from Missouri sharpening each other on summer hardwoods.
The common link between them? Justin Tatum—Jayson’s father—who coached both future NBA stars during their formative years.
“It was great coaching them,” Justin Tatum recalled. “They really challenged each other every day. Seeing them in the NBA Playoffs right now is crazy. I’m happy for them both. But I need the Boston Celtics to win.”
The full-circle moment isn’t lost on Justin, a decorated basketball mind in his own right.
Currently the head coach of Pelita Jaya of the Indonesian Basketball League and Illawarra Hawks of Australia’s NBL, Justin Tatum has taken his brand of coaching global. After a playing career at Saint Louis University (1998–2001) and a stint overseas in the Netherlands with Aris Leeuwarden, he returned to Missouri and carved out a dominant high school coaching career, winning three state titles over 16 years. He later moved to Australia in 2023 and just this year led Illawarra to the 2025 NBL Championship—his first title as a pro head coach.
But long before the passports and trophies, Justin Tatum was shaping the future of basketball at the grassroots level. Coaching the St. Louis Eagles put him at the center of a talent surge. Tatum’s son Jayson was the crown jewel, but Anunoby—then a long-armed, high-upside forward—was always right behind.
The Eagles’ legacy runs deep. The program has produced NBA talent like Bradley Beal, Larry Hughes, David Lee, Tyler Hansbrough, James Wiseman, Darius Garland, Moses Moody and now Tatum and Anunoby. And there’s another layer of connection: Larry Hughes, a fellow St. Louis native and NBA veteran, is Jayson Tatum’s godfather. Hughes and Justin Tatum played together in high school, and Justin won a state title at Christian Brothers College High School in 1997 before suiting up for the Billikens.
Jayson Tatum remembers those AAU years with OG Anunoby fondly: “A good friend of mine,” he said. “Someone I’m really happy for; just to see how much his game has developed when we were 15 years old to now.”
“He’s a hell of a player and someone I love competing against and a hell of a defender, as well.”
As Round 2 intensifies, Tatum continues to lead Boston with poise and polish, while Anunoby gives the Knicks a Swiss Army knife on both ends—tasked with slowing down the very man he once called a teammate.
It’s basketball fate. Two kids from the Midwest, molded by the same coach, now clashing on the biggest stage.
Twelve years removed from AAU runs in St. Louis gyms, their story continues—this time, in the chase for a ring. And for Justin Tatum, the view is surreal. “I’m happy for them both,” he said.
“But I need the Boston Celtics to win.”
