Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum had an old social-media message from over a dozen years back go viral after he won his first NBA Championship on Monday night over the Dallas Mavericks.

The photo contains a teenage Tatum trying to get a ‘follow back’ from LeBron James, who was playing for the Miami Heat at the time.

Fast forward 12 years, James is winding down his NBA career as one of the best basketball players of all-time.

Tatum is one of the new faces of the league, a mantle James has held for the last two decades.

The original tweet was posted April 13, 2012, while Tatum was in eighth grade.

Jayson Tatum posted a photo of himself and LeBron James on social media a dozen years ago

Tatum is now 26 and won his first NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics on Monday

Hughes played with James on the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005-2008, and was one of the first NBA veterans to impart wisdom on the now-four-time NBA Champion.

Tatum was a star at Chaminade High School in St. Louis before playing for one season under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke.

James was the No 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft and 14 years later Tatum went third overall to the Boston Celtics.

Tatum and James have matched up several times with both in the NBA.

The two will be teammates in a non-exhibition setting for the first time this summer, as both were named to the American Olympic team for the 2024 Games in Paris.