Jayson Tatum will likely miss the 2025-26 NBA season, but he added another job title on Tuesday, Oct. 7.
The six-time NBA All-Star and 2024 NBA Champion will be Duke‘s chief basketball officer, the program announced. Tatum, who played at Duke in 2016-17, will be the first to hold the role. He led the Celtics to a 2024 NBA Championship and is a six-time All-Star.
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“We are honored to welcome Jayson Tatum as our Chief Basketball Officer,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said in a school-issued statement. “This program has always been about pushing the game forward. Jayson has been incredibly loyal to Duke since the day he committed, and this evolution represents the next step in how we connect The Brotherhood to the future of our players. Jayson is the ultimate professional. His ability to inspire, motivate, and guide our student-athletes is unmatched, and I could not be more excited to see the impact he will have on our team and our culture.”
Scheyer hinted that Tatum would be “helping us this year” to fans when Tatum was in attendance for Duke’s Countdown to Craziness on Friday, Oct. 3. Tatum sat next to Scheyer during a scrimmage with his son, Deuce, as well as a pair of five-star recruits, Jordan Smith Jr. and Cam Williams.
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Tatum will be responsible for various responsibilities, including providing feedback on player performance, mentoring student-athletes, advising on roster construction and sharing insights on player development, professionalism, and team culture, helping align Duke with “professional-level standards.”
“I am ecstatic about the opportunity to be Duke’s first Chief Basketball Officer,” Tatum said. “This program means so much to me, and I had an unbelievable time here. I already watch every game, come back whenever I can, and connect with Coach Scheyer often. To have the chance to formalize my relationship with the program and broaden my ability to impact the players and culture means the world to me. As former players, we all share the responsibility of supporting the next generation of Duke Basketball.”
Tatum suffered a torn Achilles in May and does not have a clear timetable for a return to action. The Celtics are scheduled to open their season on Wednesday, Oct. 22, vs. the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Blue Devils play a pair of exhibition games against UCF (Oct. 21) and at Tennessee (Oct. 26) ahead of their season opener against Texas on Nov. 4 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
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Duke reached the Final Four during the 2024-25 season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jayson Tatum named Duke basketball’s chief basketball officer
