Before the roar of NBA arenas, the shoe deals, the highlight reels, and the stardom—there was just a young mom and her son.

Jayson Tatum remembers where it all started. Not on a basketball court. Not in a gym. But in the back of a college classroom, watching his mother take notes while he sat quietly with snacks or a book in his hands.

He was born when his mom, Brandy Cole, was just 19 years old—a freshman in college, barely out of high school herself. Many people might’ve expected her life to pause right there. To drop out. To rely on help. To settle.

But Brandy was determined. Determined not to be a statistic. Not to give up her education. Not to let motherhood stop her from chasing her goals—but rather, to let it fuel her.

So she did what few others would even attempt:
She brought her baby with her to college.

From the time Jayson was just a few months old until he was about eight, he went to school with his mom. Day after day, class after class, he sat in the back while she learned. Some days he colored. Other days he played video games. And sometimes he simply sat, watching his mom study, listening to voices he didn’t yet understand but knew mattered.

To him, this wasn’t unusual. This was normal.

He grew up seeing her work hard—not just for herself, but for them.
Because every note she took, every test she passed, every degree she earned—she did with him by her side.

By the time Jayson reached sixth grade, his mom had earned both a bachelor’s and a law degree from Saint Louis University. He still remembers her graduation day. How he stood up in his little dress shirt and slacks when they called her name. How he shouted out, “I love you! I’m proud of you!”

And how she turned to him afterward and gently corrected him.

“You did it!” he told her.

“No,” she said. “We did it.”

That moment stayed with him. Because it wasn’t just about degrees and diplomas. It was about years of sacrifice—sleepless nights, skipped social events, microwave dinners, tight budgets, and the kind of love that holds two lives together when everything else is uncertain.

Jayson remembers how they would sit at the dining room table, both doing homework. She’d help him with math—she was great at math—and explain things in ways his teachers couldn’t. Then, after dinner and after tucking him into bed, she’d stay up late into the night finishing her own assignments, preparing for exams, always pushing herself for both of their futures.

There were no shortcuts. No secret handshakes. Just grind, faith, and each other.

Through it all, Brandy gave her son more than just stability—she gave him belief. She taught him that he could be anything, no matter where he came from or how hard it might be.

“Jay,” she told him often, “don’t let anyone tell you what you can or can’t be. No matter what.”

It wasn’t just advice. It was a way of life.

And years later, when Jayson Tatum would walk onto the court for Duke, then the NBA, then Team USA—he wasn’t walking alone. He was carrying every classroom, every paper, every long night they spent at the table. Every quiet moment of sacrifice that made his loudest moments possible.

He was living the dream they built together.

So when he thanks his mom today, it’s not because she made it easy—it’s because she made it possible.

She didn’t just raise an NBA superstar.
She raised a boy who saw what it truly means to work, to fight, and to love with your whole heart.

And when he says, “We did it,” he means every word.
Because long before the spotlight, they had already won.