{"id":6435,"date":"2024-11-12T06:55:34","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T06:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=6435"},"modified":"2024-11-12T06:55:34","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T06:55:34","slug":"jayson-tatum-checks-in-at-no-91-on-the-basketball-100-one-of-the-more-talented-players-on-the-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=6435","title":{"rendered":"Jayson Tatum checks in at No. 91 on \u2018The Basketball 100\u2019: \u2018One of the more talented players on the planet\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Jayson<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/i>The Basketball 100\u201d is the definitive ranking of the 100 greatest NBA\u00a0players of all time from\u00a0<\/i>The Athletic\u2019s team of award-winning writers and analysts, including veteran columnists David Aldridge and John Hollinger. This excerpt is reprinted from the book, which also features a foreword by Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Basketball 100\u201d is available Nov. 26. Pre-order it here. Read David Aldridge\u2019s introduction and all of the excerpts here.<\/em><\/p>\n

From a young age, Jayson Tatum planned not just to reach the NBA, but also to become an All-Star. He mapped out everything he would need, both on and off the court, to reach that level. He trusted his chances until he actually reached the NBA. Then he realized one variable he had overlooked throughout all of his preparation for the rigors of professional basketball.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s so much better than you think,\u201d Tatum said.<\/p>\n

The Celtics selected Tatum with the third pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n

He earned a starting spot by opening night for a team that eventually reached the Eastern Conference finals despite some rotten injury luck. His talent stood out from the beginning. At 6-foot-8, he combined polished footwork, soft touch, and an awareness of how to impact both sides of the court. By any measure, he achieved immediate success. He just had a different perspective of his own NBA start than most and, perhaps, a warped view of his first weeks in the league. Early matchups against two of the league\u2019s best players, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, forced Tatum to think he might never achieve stardom.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn,\u201d Tatum thought to himself. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be a role player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other players also opened Tatum\u2019s eyes early in his NBA career. As a naive youngster, he didn\u2019t expect the league to challenge him the way it did. He grew up considering certain players \u201ctrash.\u201d He thought many bench warmers were useless. He believed Nicolas Batum was \u201cjust OK,\u201d but Tatum\u2019s preseason debut pitted him against the veteran wing. It was Tatum\u2019s first professional game and the only time to date he has ever come off the bench. Nerves struck him hard before he touched the court. That Hornets team starred Kemba Walker and Dwight Howard. Tatum wasn\u2019t anticipating everything Batum could do.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was taller than I thought,\u201d Tatum remembered. \u201cHe was faster. He was stronger. He could shoot better. He was smart. He was getting me on backdoor cuts and off-ball actions. Like, I\u2019ll never forget my first preseason game in [TD] Garden against Nicolas Batum.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

The Basketball 100<\/p>\n

The story of the greatest players in NBA history. In 100 riveting profiles, top basketball writers justify their selections and uncover the history of the NBA in the process.<\/p>\n

The story of the greatest plays in NBA history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Buy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Celtics then started the regular season with two straight losses against James\u2019s Cavaliers and Antetokounmpo\u2019s Bucks. Tatum knew at that point his dream would not come easy. He went home after the second game and thought he might never compare to the NBA\u2019s premier players.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, man, Giannis and LeBron are just \u2014 I don\u2019t know how to get to that level,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cAnd I remember I had those thoughts. Like, this s\u2014 is gonna be hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those in the Celtics organization believe Tatum has scaled the NBA hierarchy through diligence and hard work. GM Brad Stevens would regularly point out that Tatum approached each day the same way whether he was coming off a great success or a significant failure. Head coach Joe Mazzulla seems to refer to Tatum\u2019s character and integrity as much as any of his basketball traits. Jaylen Brown, who has seen all of Tatum\u2019s career, praises his teammate\u2019s behind-the-scenes work.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlready, he\u2019s one of the more talented players on the planet,\u201d Brown said, \u201cYou add the effort, the detail, the work ethic on top of that, the focus level \u2026 he\u2019s been able to be turned into what we see now. We all have contributed to that, but we all have gained from that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

During Tatum\u2019s first six seasons, the Celtics reached the Eastern Conference finals four times. As he laughed about once during an interview, one of the teams that fell short might have had the deepest roster of his career. The 2018-19 mix, with Kyrie Irving, never figured out how to mesh. That group won 48 games in Tatum\u2019s second season before falling to the Bucks in the second round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

During Tatum\u2019s rookie season, the Celtics advanced one round further even after losing Irving and Gordon Hayward to season-ending injuries. Months after marveling at James\u2019s greatness, Tatum took the league\u2019s four-time MVP to seven games in the Eastern Conference finals. During the fourth quarter of Game 7, Tatum drove down the middle of the lane, cocked back his right arm, and slammed a dunk over James. Before heading back on defense, Tatum briefly chest-bumped James to celebrate the bucket. It was another sign of Tatum\u2019s growing self-belief. When the Celtics went on a long winning streak earlier in the season, his concerns about his place began to fade.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe won 16 games in a row and each game I got more and more comfortable,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cAnd it got to a certain point during my rookie year where I was like, man, when I get a little bit stronger \u2014 I was still 19 for most of my first year \u2014 I was like, I\u2019m going to be pretty good. I knew when I just got more time under my belt and got stronger and more experience. But after those first two games [against James and Antetokounmpo], I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m going to be able to play that long in this league.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Tatum has packed all sorts of accolades into the first six-plus years of his NBA life. He reached the All-Star Game for the first time in 2020 and hasn\u2019t missed it since. He won a gold medal for Team USA in the 2020 Olympics. He set the record for most points in a single All-Star Game with 55 in 2021 and also broke the record for most points in a Game 7 of a playoff series with 51 to close out Philadelphia in the 2023 second round.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the most humble way, I\u2019ve been an All-Star four times. I was All-Star Game MVP, Eastern Conference finals MVP,\u201d he said in November 2023. \u201cI\u2019ve been All-NBA three times, back-to-back First Team. All those things are things I wanted to do growing up. I\u2019m proud of them, like, I\u2019m thankful for that. But now it\u2019s just, like, I\u2019ve done those things. I know I can do it. I know I\u2019ll probably do it again.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s like the only thing I feel like I haven\u2019t done is win a championship. So all those things are important, right, for legacy. And the work that you put in, you should be rewarded for the things that you do. I don\u2019t want to brush it off like that s\u2014 don\u2019t matter. It does matter. But it\u2019s like I\u2019ve done that. I scratched those off the bucket list. Now it\u2019s like I want to get to the reason that we all play. And that\u2019s the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Celtics reached the NBA Finals in 2022 but fell to the Warriors in six games. That loss was painful as the Celtics had a 2-1 series lead, but watched as the Warriors won the next three games and clinched on the Celtics\u2019 home floor.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Tatum and the Celtics returned to the NBA Finals against the Mavericks. This time, the Celtics finished the job, defeating the Mavs in five games. The Celtics went an impressive 16-3 in the postseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve just been through the ups and downs,\u201d Tatum told The Athletic<\/em> after winning the finals in Boston. \u201cWe\u2019ve been through the highest of highs and some low moments. This is what it was all about.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just had to look myself in the mirror and see what I needed to do to get us over that hump. I did that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Career NBA stats (through 2023-24):<\/strong> G: 513, Pts.: 23.1, Reb.: 7.2, Ast.: 3.5, Win Shares: 56.0, PER: 20.1
\nAchievements:<\/strong> Four-time All-NBA, Five-time All-Star, Eastern Conference Finals MVP (\u201922), Olympic gold (\u201820, \u201824), NBA champ (\u201924)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether experiencing great success or significant failure, Tatum has scaled the NBA hierarchy through diligence and hard work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6439,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[12,45],"class_list":["post-6435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-boston-celtics","tag-nba"],"yoast_head":"\nJayson Tatum checks in at No. 91 on \u2018The Basketball 100\u2019: \u2018One of the more talented players on the planet\u2019 - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=6435\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jayson Tatum checks in at No. 91 on \u2018The Basketball 100\u2019: \u2018One of the more talented players on the planet\u2019 - 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