Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is in China for a promotional tour with Jordan Brand. During his time in the Asian country, he interacted with fans, gave interviews and visited stores at the Jordan World of Flight in Shanghai. Tatum tried to demonstrate free throws during one of his stops, but he embarrassed himself.
The Celtics star doesn’t usually struggle with free throws. Throughout his nine-year career, Tatum has made a respectable 83.9% of his shots from the charity stripe. He has never shot below 80.0% from the free-throw line.
When he tried to show off in front of his Chinese fans, however, he could not find his shooting stroke.
Jayson Tatum missed four straight shots, and the fans were disappointed. He switched basketballs after that, but he still couldn’t find his rhythm. Overall, the Celtics star missed 10 straight shots from the line before he knocked down one.
Jayson Tatum struggled at the free throw line in China
(h/t @BackcourtAlerts) pic.twitter.com/rGTJUH64tc
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) August 27, 2026
Fans online were embarrassed for Tatum, and they made fun of him.
“Shanghai really put him in the free throw trenches,” a fan said.
“
Even Tatum has those nights. The free-throw line was not his friend today,” another fan commented.
“10 free throws in a row is crazy,” one fan said.
“But Celtics fans deadass spam that he’s better than Brunson, Luka, Ant, etc. He gonna have residency in China soon,” someone commented.
“Bro building the Great Wall over there… brick by brick,” a comment read.
“should of traded his bum instead of their finals mvp,” one fan commented.
Tatum was relieved when his final shot went through the hoop.
Jayson Tatum’s Former Teammate Shuts Down Beef Rumors With Jaylen Brown
There were talks that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown did not have the best relationship during their time as co-stars. However, former Celtics big man Nikola Vucevic dismissed the rumors and cleared the air based on what he saw during his limited time in Boston.
“But while I was there, did I sense anything between the players or any kind of problems? No, I honestly didn’t,” the former star said. “I was as surprised as everyone else when the trade happened, even though there had been plenty written about it in the media. But plenty of things get reported and don’t end up happening.”
Vucevic was teammates with Tatum and Brown last season after the Celtics traded for him from the Chicago Bulls. He appeared in 16 games for the Eastern Conference team during the 2026-27 campaign.