Boston Celtics rising star Jayson Tatum was having a career season before the NBA went on hiatus. Here is a look at his top 3 performances prior to the shutdown.
Before the coronavirus silenced the sports world, Boston Celtics third-year forward Jayson Tatum was one of the NBA’s most dangerous rising stars.
In a season in which he was named to his first All-Star game, Tatum showcased tremendous skill and confidence in growing into a prolific scorer for the Celtics. With his ability to score from anywhere on the court, Tatum averaged 23.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in 59 games during the shortened season.
Most importantly, he exemplified tremendous growth in taking the team on his shoulder when he needed to as he combined with both Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown to form a new big 3 in Boston.
Was the best still ahead for Jayson Tatum?
That remains to be seen as the NBA is still discussing ways to continue the 2019-20 season.
As a player who provided an impact on both ends of the court, the growing confidence in Tatum was obvious prior to the season going on hiatus.
In earning the NBA Player of the Month honors in February, Tatum put the NBA on notice by averaging over 30.0 points per game.
Going toe-to-toe with elite stars like Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and LeBron James in some of the Celtics biggest matchups of the season, Tatum not only showed he could handle the big stage of stardom, he proved he is ready to be the No. 1 option for the Celtics.
With the 2019-20 NBA season still up in the air, here are the top 3 Jayson Tatum performances in his first All-Star season.
3. Jayson Tatum torches Trail Blazers
In scoring 36 points against the Portland Blazers in late February, Jayson Tatum not only continued his hot streak of games, he showed off just how dangerous of a scorer he is from anywhere on the court, particularly behind the strip.
In this game, Tatum showed the Blazers the complete heat by synching a career-high eight 3-pointers in the 118-106 victory.
Portland was without its top scorer Damian Lillard, but it wouldn’t have mattered if he was playing as Jayson Tatum scored 26 of the 36 points in the second half in a game in which the Boston Celtics were without their top scorer Kemba Walker.
Launching three after three with hands in his face, Tatum displayed just how hard he has been working on the shot that makes him a very tough player to defend when he is on.
"“That’s a hot I’ve been working on a lot,” Tatum said following the game, via Boston.com. “When those guys are coming at you at 7 feet it makes it tougher. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes they block it.”"
Well, it was certainly going in as Tatum’s confidence was sky high. The 36-point performance at the time marked his 10th 30-point game of the season.
Not one of his top three performances as far as point total, but certainly a game to remember in how he took the team on his shoulder and absolutely torched one of the better teams in the Western Conference.
2. Tatum outlasts Kawhi Leonard
In a Boston Celtics’ 141-133 double overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers prior to the NBA All-Star Break, Jayson Tatum showed the NBA and Kawhi Leonard that he was more than All-Star worthy. In front of his home crowd at TD Garden, He showed the NBA world that he is a superstar on the rise who can do it all.
By all, we are talking a 39-point performance going up against one of the league’s best defensive players in Kawhi Leonard. We are talking about how he defended Leonard on the offensive end.
We are also talking about how Tatum took over for the Celtics down the stretch. Not only did he look like a leader, his growth was on full display and really got Leonard’s attention who lauded Tatum’s growth and increased assertiveness after the game. But it’s what Clippers coach Doc Rivers said that really magnified the Celtics young star’s rise in stardom.
"“Can you imagine five years from now what he’ll be? He’s one of the better players in the league and an All-Star, yet we’re still talking about how young and how much better he’ll be,” Rivers said, as transcribed by MassLive.com. “He’s going to be amazing.”"
Amazing he was on that night on both ends of the court, showcasing his versatility as a scorer and his fortitude as a defender.
Only did we know, this was just the beginning of his amazing stretch in the month of February, which leads to his top performance of the season.
1. Tatum takes it to LeBron…and The Brow
In another game in which they did not have Kemba Walker, the Boston Celtics leaned on the scoring of Jayson Tatum to almost pull off a victory against LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers.
It must be something about those L.A. teams because like the game against the Clippers, Tatum absolutely went off, scoring 41 points and looking basically unstoppable during a stretch of the game.
He was absolutely making a statement once again on the big stage.
☘️@jaytatum0 makes a statement with 41 points (tied career-high) https://t.co/hdCbTKyW9S
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 23, 2020
He was scoring all over the court, which forced Lakers head coach Frank Vogel to switch Anthony Davis on him. Well, Tatum hit some big-time shots behind the stripe on him and really put the pressure on the Lakers throughout the game.
The Celtics ultimately lost that game as Jayson Tatum was not able to get off a final shot. But the 114-112 loss seemed more like a victory because of how Tatum performed and how the team went toe-to-toe with the Finals favorite Lakers in a game without Kemba Walker.
Again, he got the attention of one of the best players in the world as LeBron James could only praise Tatum who became the youngest player in the Celtics-Lakers rivalry to score 40-plus in a game.
"“The kid is special,” James said following the game, via NBA.com. “Obviously that’s a reason he’s a first-time All-Star, and he’s been special all year.”"
If that praise didn’t highlight this top Jayson Tatum performance, King James took to his Instagram and labeled the young Boston Celtics star an “ABSOLUTE PROBLEM!”
Sounds like a nickname to me.