Jayson Tatum's new French bulldog is adorable, and it also has a fantastic name.
The Boston Celtics star is naming the dog "Bean", according to Nicole Yang of The Boston Globe, in honor of the late Kobe Bryant. The Los Angeles Lakers legend, who died earlier this year in a helicopter accident, was Tatum's "hero" and "idol". Tatum also said in an Instagram post shortly after Bryant's death that the future Hall of Famer is "The reason I started to play this game, the reason I fell in love with this game."
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Here's a photo of Tatum's new dog, via Yang:
Bean was Bryant's middle name. It came from his father's nickname, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant. Joe Bryant was a pro basketball player for more than a decade and spent time playing in the NBA and leagues overseas from 1975 through 1991.
Tatum will soon be back on the basketball court when the Boston Celtics join 21 other teams in traveling to Orlando to resume the 2019-20 NBA season at Walt Disney World Resort next month. The 22-year-old forward is in the midst of his best season. He leads the Celtics in scoring at 23.6 points per game, and he also made his first All-Star Game appearance in February.