Boston Celtics: 3 reasons Jayson Tatum is ascending into an All-Star

3. The emergence of Jaylen Brown

When Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge lost out on the Anthony Davis sweepstakes, he put all his money on the development of two players he selected with the No. 3 pick in the NBA draft in back-to-back seasons.

In watching that young duo lead the team to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals two seasons ago, Ainge and Celtics fans saw a glimpse of what these two players could be.

Although both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are not quite Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen just yet, they are both emerging at the same time which can only put a smile on Ainge’s face in that he made the right decision holding onto both.

While Tatum has gotten most of the hype about his potential to grow into a transcendent player, it is Brown’s emergence that is really helping him get there.

In fact, they are helping each other thrive and become better players because of the highs and lows of the last two seasons.  One is pushing the other and that is a great ingredient to the growth of any young player.  Friendly, healthy competition on and off the court.

With how Jaylen Brown has been playing this season, he could be the obstacle in the way of Tatum making his first All-Star game.

"“Jaylen’s been great,” Tatum said, via Massive.com.  “He’s been playing great this year.  He’s really been helping out team out a lot this year, obviously.  Hopefully he can keep it up, and maybe we can get three people on the All-Star team.  If we keep winning, you never know.”"

What a treat for Boston Celtics fans if the young duo makes their first of many All-Star appearances together.  It will be even better if the C’s end up with four All-Stars, although it could be a tall task for both Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown to make it playing the same position.