Boston Celtics: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards

Most Improved Player of the Year: Jayson Tatum

The NBA playoffs are rarely a time that rookies stamp their mark on the league, but Jayson Tatum proved to be an exception to the rule, with his stellar postseason setting the bar at almost unreachable levels heading into his sophomore year.

Steadily growing in confidence as his first year wore on, Tatum’s form was peaking by the time the Milwaukee Bucks arrived in Boston for Game 1 of the playoffs. In 19 games during the postseason, he was able to lift his scoring average from 13.9 points per game to 18.5 per game, creating some Celtics history along the way.

Some of the marks Tatum set included:

• A Celtics rookie record of seven straight 20-point outings in the playoffs
• First rookie ever to have multiple 20-point Game 7s in the playoffs
• Joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only rookies in NBA history to post 10 20-point games in the postseason

It was a scintillating run from the former Duke standout, and one that had you rubbing your eyes in disbelief that he was indeed a first-year player.

The last two winners of the Most Improved Player of the Year award, Victor Oladipo and Giannis Antetokounmpo, both completed meteoric rises to be named All-Stars in their winning campaigns, and Tatum will have his work cut out for him on a stacked Boston roster.

With Irving and Hayward missing from the postseason, Tatum will now be required to share the load during the regular season, which could limit his chances to catapult his raw numbers to the next level.

Despite that, it would surprise no one if he simply carried on tearing games to shreds on the offensive end. He’s just that good.