Boston Celtics: 2017-18 player grades for Jayson Tatum
By Mason McFee
Highlights
A few of Tatum’s best highlights have already been linked, but certainly not all. The first play comes early in a regular season contest against the New York Knicks:
Kyrie Irving begins to drive on his defender (Ramon Sessions), and then kicks it out to center Aron Baynes, who shoots a short jumper, and misses. Tatum, who was behind the 3-point line when the play started comes in, and skies over Tim Hardaway Jr. and Porzingis for the monster slam.
The next play comes from a game in December against the Charlotte Hornets, a game that I was actually in attendance for. This play has stuck in my head ever since, so I figure I’d include it here:
Fellow rookie Guerschon Yabusele sets a pick for Tatum, which makes Tatum’s defender (Treveon Graham) believe he’s driving right. Instead, Tatum quickly puts the ball behind his back, drives in the lane, sidesteps veteran forward Marvin Williams, and puts the ball through the hoop. That was the moment I knew he was going to be special.
The next highlight (and arguably the dunk of the year) comes much more recently. Watch and enjoy:
While the dunk itself was super satisfying to watch, the best part of the play is that he intentionally bumps into LeBron James afterward. Bold move, rook.
The final highlight isn’t a play, but rather an endorsement from a certain Celtics legend – Paul Pierce. The Truth was interviewed by Brad Finn of Boston.com, and had this to say on the rookie forward:
"“When I came out, I was a 21-year-old. He was 19 for most of this season. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but a year-and-a-half, two years, that’s a lot of developmental time. I had three years of college [at Kansas] to develop. He had one year [at Duke], and he’s already doing this. He’s a superstar in the making. You can compare a kid like that to me anytime you want.”"
That’s high praise from an all-time great, and certainly should help Tatum’s confidence moving forward.