Although Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum share a fierce rivalry on the court, their relationship is quite cordial off-court.
Ex-teammate reveals how Luka Doncic got under Jayson Tatum’s skin

Luka Doncic used to get under Jayson Tatum’s skin

Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum are two of the top stars in the league. Both the stars have been near the top of the MVP ladder over the past couple of seasons, and their rivalry came to a head-on collision with their NBA Finals matchup last season. Tatum prevailed as a champion with his stellar supporting cast, but it seems like that’s not all there is to their rivalry.

On the latest episode of the Club 520 podcast, Jayson Tatum joined Ex-NBA Star Jeff Teague. The discussion between the two was incredibly insightful, especially with the two having spent time together on the Boston Celtics. However, one of the more intriguing anecdotes from Teague revealed how Luka Doncic used to get under Tatum’s skin.

Anytime we mention Luka, even though it definitely ain’t no beef with them, it’s just competitive spirit, ET would be like, ‘Yeah, Luka cold’, I’ll be like ooh, JT ‘bout to get 40 tonight, ‘boutta go crazy.’

Jeff Teague said

Teague revealed that every time someone would bring up Luka Doncic’s name, Tatum would not take well to it. He is rightfully one of the top stars in the league and did not like to see people term Doncic a better player. Teague also recounted a story about Celtics assistant coach Evan Turner bringing up Doncic’s name before matches in an effort to get Tatum fired up.

Teague hilariously recalled how the Celtics bench would bet on Jayson Tatum having a high-scoring game anytime someone would mention Luka Doncic. Even though they have a rivalry, Teague did confirm that the two stars do not have any actual beef with each other. The competitive spirit among them drives both to try and be better than the other.

Jayson Tatum versus Luka Doncic: Head-to-head numbers

Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic share one of the most intriguing rivalries, as the two continue to develop. The two have often faced off against each other, with their recent NBA Finals matchup being the most significant. But throughout their career, the two stars have faced off in 11 games against each other in the regular season. Through those games, Tatum holds the edge over Doncic.


Jayson Tatum has a 6-5 record against Luka Doncic in the regular season alone. Both stars bring their A-game against each other during every matchup. In those 11 games, Tatum has averaged 26.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Doncic on the other hand, has averaged a remarkable 29.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists during that same time.

In their most recent matchup in the NBA Finals, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics stole the show with a 4-1 series win to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy. But the series saw Doncic put up some incredible numbers against Tatum. Doncic averaged 29.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists in those 5 games, compared to Tatum’s 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists. Safe to say, that we haven’t seen the last of the rivalry between two of the top young stars in the league.