NBA superstar Jayson Tatum says this advice from Kobe Bryant changed his life: ‘How much are you willing to sacrifice?'

When Kobe Bryant gives you advice, you listen.

For Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum, that strategy has paid off handsomely. The 26-year-old this week led Boston past the Indiana Pacers to secure his second career NBA Finals appearance.

The five-time All-Star, who spoke to CNBC Make It while promoting Gatorade's "Is It In You?" campaign, said a workout with the late NBA legend helped him understand what it takes to have the career he wants.

"He asked me, 'How much does it mean to you? How much does it mean to be successful, the best that you can be, maximize the talents that god gave you?" Tatum told Make It. "'How much are you willing to sacrifice? How hard are you willing to work?'"

The third overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft said Bryant's words have "always resonated with me." Indeed, he reminds himself of the Black Mamba's advice whenever he needs to make a sacrifice for his career.

In his case, Tatum says one of the hardest parts of the job is how much time he needs to spend away from his family and his young son. But as difficult as it might be, Tatum understands that he only has "a small window of your life to be an NBA player."

"You have a small window of your prime, your peak athleticism years, to achieve greatness in what you're trying to do," he said. "During that timeframe of your life, it's required that you sacrifice and miss out on family time and birthdays because you have a job to do, you have a responsibility to your craft."

Below, Tatum talks about the financial lessons he learned coming into the NBA, the importance of his daily routine and the best money he ever spent.

What the NBA taught him about money

As a kid, when you think about the NBA and people that make it, you think that you get drafted and walk across the stage and millions of dollars get deposited into your account. You think you're this super rich young kid and the money will never run out. I learned that that's not at all how it works.

I'm grateful for all the guys that played in the NBA and went bankrupt and are still around to share their stories, share all the things where they went wrong. Whether it's bad investments or giving 40 people an allowance every month.

It can be easy to get caught up seeing all the different cars that the older guys have, the accessories, maybe they're flying private. You have to understand you're not in the financial place that they are and you don't make the same amount of money. You can't live above your means and spend money that you don't have unnecessarily trying to stay up to par with guys that have been in the league 10, 12 years longer than you.

On the consistency of his routine

In the NBA, with our travel schedule, every day is kind of different depending on if we're at home or on the road and if we have a game.

Mornings at home look a little different. If I have to take Deuce to school, those mornings start at 6:30. Being on the road, you may get to sleep in a little later.

Game days are usually the same. I get to the gym, eat breakfast, and lift weights. Then we have a morning practice shootaround. After that, I eat lunch and get treatment — a massage and cold tub and a nap. And we get to the game two and a half hours before it starts. These things all add up to what you see at 7:30 on the court.

I'm definitely a routine guy. But what I've learned is I do enjoy the days when for whatever reason, whether flight delay or weather or whatever it may be, that your routine is thrown off and you still have to go out there and perform at a very high level.

Yes, I love my routine, but I also enjoy the days where something's out of your control and you still have to figure it out. You can't just throw the whole day away because what you're accustomed to on a daily basis was thrown off.

The best money Jayson Tatum ever spent

For me, being able to buy my mom and grandmother a house, there's no better feeling than that. They're two people that really raised me and took care of me to get me to where I am today.

And I would also say any vacation that I was able to take with my family. All the material things, they fill the cup of happiness for a moment, but there's always a newer car or a newer watch. Taking your family on a vacation and having those memories and being able to have them enjoy experiences that otherwise they never would have been able to have, those by far are the things I enjoy the most because it's a memory and it's something we can share together.

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