Duke introduced Tuesday it has named Jayson Tatum as this system’s first chief basketball officer, making him faculty basketball’s first participant to carry such a place. Tatum will function a particular advisor to go coach Jon Scheyer on participant growth and roster building.
Tatum will volunteer his time to satisfy with Duke gamers on profession recommendation and private branding. He will even conduct common digital classes with the teaching workers all through the season to offer suggestions from an NBA perspective.
Tatum’s tasks embody providing championship-level perception on participant growth, management, and life as an elite athlete, in accordance with the varsity’s launch. The association formalizes a relationship that has existed informally since Scheyer turned head coach in 2022.
“Jayson is the last word skilled. His skill to encourage, encourage, and information our student-athletes is unmatched,” Scheyer mentioned in an announcement.
The place represents an evolution in how faculty applications leverage high-profile alumni. Trae Younger and Steph Curry have taken related roles at Oklahoma and Davidson, respectively, although their positions focus extra closely on income technology and roster building.
Tatum performed one season at Duke in 2016-17, averaging 16.8 factors and seven.3 rebounds per recreation earlier than changing into the third total decide within the 2017 NBA Draft. Scheyer served as an assistant coach underneath Mike Krzyzewski throughout Tatum’s lone collegiate season.
“This program means a lot to me, and I had an unbelievable time right here,” Tatum mentioned. “To have the prospect to formalize my relationship with this system and broaden my skill to affect the gamers and tradition means the world to me.”
Tatum is recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in Might in the course of the NBA playoffs. He’s anticipated to overlook most or all the 2025-26 NBA season whereas rehabilitating.
