The Lakers, who had the No. 2 pick, were noticeably absent. Tatum, whose childhood bedroom in St. Louis doubled as a Kobe Bryant shrine, felt snubbed. “That was kind of devastating,” Tatum told the Club 520 Podcast, hosted by Jeff Teague, in November. He’d hoped to accomplish one of two goals in the draft, sources told ESPN: either go No. 1 or be selected by the Lakers to follow in Bryant’s footsteps, just a year after the all-time great retired from the league. Neither happened. Instead, Tatum ended up in green and white — at the No. 3 pick. The Celtics moved down in the draft and still got the player they wanted — the player who has become a cornerstone in their rise back to the top of the league, and who just last summer helped them take back the lead in the category these storied franchises value most: championships.