It's transfer portal season, so Penny Hardaway has been hosting college basketball players as he builds out the Memphis basketball roster.
He had a different kind of visitor at the Tigers' facility this week: Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum.
Tatum said after the Celtics beat the Grizzlies 117-103 on Monday night at FedExForum that he'd gotten a chance to visit the facility while he was in Memphis for the game.
"I got to see Penny Hardaway," Tatum said. "That's a family friend of mine I've known since I was 10 or so. Went up there and worked out, went on the court and lifted weights and just got to see him."
Tatum has had ties to Memphis going back to his childhood. He grew up in St. Louis but spent lots of time in the Bluff City in part because his stepdad, Jake Barnes, is a Memphis native.
"I played with the Memphis War Eagles when I was in 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th grade," Tatum said. "That's when my mom met my stepdad. I used to come to Memphis all the time in the summertime. So I've got of family, a lot of friends. The closest NBA city to St. Louis, or Indiana. I used to come here all the time, it's only a three and a half hour drive. So I just built a lot of relationships the past 15 years or so."
Tatum scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help the Celtics beat the Grizzlies and end their road trip at a perfect 6-0. And then he got a special visitor of his own in the locker room — Tigers assistant Nolan Smith, who was on the Duke staff under Mike Krzyzewski when Tatum played for the Blue Devils during the 2016-17 season.
The Celtics only visit Memphis once a season, so Tatum had to make the most of his time in the city he's called his "second home."
"I've got a lot of love for the city of Memphis," he said.
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Why Jayson Tatum visited Tigers facility while in Memphis with Celtics
