Jayson Tatum scored 35 points Thursday in the Boston Celtics’ win, but immediately afterward he was already looking ahead to Saturday’s huge matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on ABC.
In fact, he did a promo for that NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC game during a postgame interview on Thursday — live on TNT.
NBA on TNT reporter Jared Greenberg caught up with Tatum on the court immediately after the Celtics win over the Philadelphia 76ers on TNT.
Tatum talked briefly about the game. Then Greenberg noted the looming matchup with the Lakers.
“Tell us about what’s coming on Saturday here, with the red-hot Lakers and LeBron [James] … coming to play here Saturday night,” Greenberg prompted Tatum.
“It’s gonna be a fun one, man” Tatum said. “ABC. Celtics versus Lakers. It’s what the fans want to see.”
“Thanks for that promo on TNT,” Greenberg joked. “Appreciate that.”
Play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan joined in with some mock condemnation.
“C’mon!” Harlan said. “What’s going on? You can’t do that! You just broke every FCC rule!”
“These are the moments why we are who we are” 😤@jaytatum0 tells @JaredSGreenberg the C’s proved their depth in tonight’s win ☘️ pic.twitter.com/VrMdgeEUa3
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 7, 2025
It was a nice, lighthearted moment, although some likely viewed it through the prism of Warner Bros. Discovery and TNT losing NBA media rights after this season. The new 11-year, $76 billion deal includes NBC, Amazon … and yes, ABC/ESPN.