2023 NBA All Star: Jayson Tatum Reacts to Winning the Kobe Bryant MVP Trophy

• Jayson Tatum is overjoyed at winning the Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP trophy
• He scored a record 55 points to help Team Giannis beat Team LeBron 184-175
• The Boston Celtics star says he idolized the late Kobe Bryant as a youngster

Jayson Tatum's spectacular performance at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game helped Team Giannis hand team LeBron their first defeat since the new format was adopted in 2018.

The Boston Celtics star scored 55 points - an All-Star Game record - rewarding Giannis Antetokounmpo for picking him in the draft just before tipoff.

Team Giannis won 184-175.

The 24-year-old scored 55 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists on 22-for-31 shooting overall with a 10-for-18 from 3-point range. The MVP candidate also scored an All-Star record 27 points in the third quarter alone.

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Team Giannis was also helped by Donovan Mitchell, who dropped 40 points, while Damian Lillard added 26 from the bench, including the game-winner.

LeBron James was ruled out for the second with a hand injury after scoring 13 points. However, three of his players scored at least 30 points: Jaylen Brown (35), Joel Embiid (32) and Kyrie Irving (32), per NBC Sports.

Tatum reacts to winning MVP

On February 15, 2020, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced that the NBA All-Star Game MVP Award would be permanently named in Bryant's honor.

The late great is Tatum's idol and he commented on winning an award named after the Lakers legend.

"It's extremely special to me. My first All-Star Game was in Chicago in 2020 when they renamed the MVP after him and I remember telling myself that someday I got to get one of those," he said via ESPN.

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Tatum took 11 of the 12 votes for the award, with Mitchell earning the other through a fan vote.

Throughout his 20-year successful NBA career, Bryant was named for 18 All-Star Games, with his first selection coming in his second NBA season in 1998.

The late Lakers icon appeared at the All-Star Game at 19 - the youngest player to do so - to set a record that still stands.

Bryant won the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011, tying him with Hall of Famer, Bob Pettit for most NBA All-Star Game MVP Awards with four, according to Sporting News.

Tatum on 2022 NBA Finals

Sports Brief earlier reported on Tatum explaining why the Celtics lost the 2022 NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors.

He believes GSW had more in the tank despite almost the same talent level, adding the Celtics core were in their first NBA Finals.

Tatum admitted he had been tired in Game 6 of the series, in which he underwhelmed to draw sharp criticism from Boston fans.