Jayson Tatum

Tatum was rated as a five-star recruit and considered one of the best prospects in the 2016 class. He was ranked as the No. 3 overall recruit behind Harry Giles and Josh Jackson and No. 2 small forward in the 2016 high school class.[15][16]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jayson Tatum SF	St. Louis, MO	Chaminade College Prep	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jul 12, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 97
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 4   Rivals: 3  ESPN: 3
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 Duke Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Tatum (left) attempting a shot against the Washington Wizards in 2018

Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge dealt away the team's No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft to the Philadelphia 76ers in hopes that he could acquire another valuable draft pick and still target the player he actually wanted, Tatum. They selected him with the third overall pick, which they received from Philadelphia. He was the Celtics second straight No. 3 pick for a small forward, following Jaylen Brown in 2016.[37] During the 2017 NBA Summer League event in Utah, he displayed his abilities to effect, averaging 18.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 2.0 assists in nearly 33 minutes of action. Later, in Las Vegas, Tatum produced similar results, averaging 17.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.8 blocks in nearly 32 minutes of action in the three games he was allowed to play. He was named to the All-Summer League Second Team alongside Bryn Forbes, Cheick Diallo, Wayne Selden Jr., and Kyle Kuzma.[38]

In his NBA debut, Tatum recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds as the team's starting power forward in a 102–99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.[39] Tatum then recorded a season-high 24 points in a win over the New York Knicks on October 24, 2017.[40] He was named the Eastern Conference's Rookie of The Month for December 2017.[41]

The Celtics finished the season with a record of 55–27, entering the 2018 NBA playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference. In Game 1 of the first-round series against the seventh seed Milwaukee Bucks, Tatum recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.[42] In Game 4 he broke his playoff-high with 21 points, and then broke it again in Game 6 with 22.[43] The Celtics defeated the Bucks in Game 7 by a score of 112–96, with Tatum scoring 20 points.[44]

In Game 1 of the second-round series against the third-seed Philadelphia 76ers, Tatum had a career-high 28 points in a 117–101 win,[45] becoming the first Celtics rookie to score 25 or more points in a playoff game since Larry Bird during the 1980 NBA playoffs, also against the 76ers.[46] After posting 21 points in a Game 2 victory, he became the youngest player ever to score at least 20 points in four straight playoff games at the age of 20 years, 61 days, surpassing Kobe Bryant who accomplished that feat during the 1999 NBA playoffs at the age of 20 years, 272 days.[47] After leading the Celtics with 24 points in a Game 3 overtime win in Philadelphia,[48] he became the first Celtics rookie to score 20 points in five straight playoff games. Bird held the previous record of four.[49] At the end of his playoff run, he joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only rookies in playoff history to record 10 games of 20 or more points scored during their first playoff runs; LeBron James would praise Tatum's work there, stating: "He's built for stardom."[50]

On May 22, 2018, Tatum was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team (First Team).[51]

In the Celtics 2018–19 season opener, Tatum scored 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assist in a 105–87 win against the Philadelphia 76ers.[52] On October 20, he scored 24 points and 14 rebounds in a 103–101 victory over the New York Knicks.[53] On October 25, Tatum scored 24 points and 6 rebounds in a 101–95 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.[54] On November 16, Tatum recorded 21 points and 7 rebounds in a 123–116 overtime win against the Toronto Raptors.[55] On December 25, he scored 23 points and 10 rebounds in a 121–114 overtime win against the Philadelphia 76ers.[56] On February 5, Tatum tallied 25 points and 7 rebounds in a 103–96 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers.[57] On March 6, Tatum scored 24 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assist in a 126–120 win against the Sacramento Kings.[58] During NBA All-Star Weekend, he won the Skills Challenge competition.[59]

Tatum with the Celtics in October 2018

On December 22, 2019, Tatum scored a then career-high 39 points, along with 12 rebounds, in a 119–93 win over the Charlotte Hornets.[60] He would exceed that career-high with 41 points against the New Orleans Pelicans in a 140–105 win on January 11, 2020.[61] On January 30, Tatum was named an NBA All-Star for the first time in his career, being selected as an Eastern Conference reserve.[62] On February 13, Tatum would again score 39 points, while playing 47 minutes and leading Boston to a 141–133 double overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers.[63] On February 23, he matched his career-high 41 points in a 114–112 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.[64] As the season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Tatum would shoot 2–18 against the Milwaukee Bucks on July 31, but he would come back the next game scoring 34 points on 11–22 shooting in a 128–124 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on August 2. He was named to the All-NBA Third Team and his first selection of his career.

In the 2020 NBA playoffs, the Celtics were able to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in Tatum's three years in the NBA following series victories over the Philadelphia 76ers[65] and Toronto Raptors[66] in four and seven games, respectively. However, Boston was eliminated in those Conference Finals by the Miami Heat in six games.[67] In Game 1, with the Celtics trailing by two in the closing seconds, Tatum's game-tying dunk attempt was blocked by Heat center Bam Adebayo with 4.8 seconds left and prompted Miami to a 117–114 victory.[68]

On November 22, 2020, Tatum and the Celtics agreed to a rookie maximum extension of five years, worth $195 million.[69] On the opening night of the season on December 23, 2020, Tatum totaled 30 points and seven rebounds, alongside a game-winning three-pointer, in a 122–121 win against the Milwaukee Bucks.[70] On January 3, 2021, Tatum had 24 points and a career-high 12 assists and made another game-winning basket in a 122–120 win against the Detroit Pistons.[71] The next day, Tatum scored a season-high 40 points in a 126–114 win against the Toronto Raptors.[72] On January 9, 2021, it was confirmed that Tatum tested positive for COVID-19 and missed multiple games.[73] On 23 February, Tatum was named an Eastern Conference reserve for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game. It was his second All-Star game in a row.[74]

On April 9, Tatum had a career-high 53 points, 16 made field goals, and 15 made free throws in a close win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. With his career night, Tatum was the youngest Celtics player to score 50+ points; he also scored the third-highest number of points in a Celtics uniform, behind Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, and became the second player in Celtics history to score 50+ points and grab 10+ rebounds since Bird did it back in November 1989.[75][76][77][78] Tatum and Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls became the second pair of players in the 2020–21 season to score 50+ points on the same day.[79]

On May 4, Tatum brought the Celtics back from a 32-point deficit against the San Antonio Spurs, a performance that produced the third-largest comeback in NBA history and gave Tatum another career-high of 60 points, tied for the highest points total by a Celtics player (Larry Bird). Tatum was one of three players to score 60+ points without a single turnover and was named Eastern Conference player of the week after averaging 42.7 points per game, 6.0 assists per game, and 6.0 rebounds per game.[80]

In the first game of the play-in tournament on May 18, Tatum scored 50 points, guiding the Celtics to a victory over the Washington Wizards and cementing the team as the seven seed in the Eastern Conference into the 2021 NBA playoffs; Kemba Walker, Tatum's teammate, had 29 points while only one other player (Tristan Thompson) had ten or more points. Tatum set the record for most points in a single play-in tournament game, became one of an elite list of players who scored 50+ points in play-ins/playoffs, and singlehandedly outscored the Wizards in the third quarter and part of the fourth, and was a perfect 17/17 from the free throw line.[81]

In Game 3 of the first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets and their "Big Three" (Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving), Tatum scored 50 points on 50% shooting (16/30), and put up 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals. With the feat, Tatum achieved a variety of records, becoming the first player in NBA playoff history to score 50 points after scoring single digits the previous game; he also passed 1,000 points in the playoffs and became the fifth-highest postseason point scorer at age 23 or younger in NBA history as well as the first Celtics player since Isaiah Thomas to score 50+ points in the NBA playoffs and the third youngest player in NBA playoff history to reach that mark in a single game. In terms of franchise records, Tatum became just the sixth person in Celtics history to score 50+ points in a playoff game; he also became the only player in NBA history to score 50+ points more than once in the regular season, 50+ points in a play-in game, and 50+ points in the playoffs.[82][83] Despite losing to the Nets in five games, Tatum set a Celtics franchise record for most points scored in a three-game span in the playoffs, with a combined total of 122 points.[84]

Jayson led the league in Plus-minus for the first time in his 5th season, cementing his status as one of the most valuable players in the NBA.[85] On October 25, 2021, in a 140–129 overtime victory over the Charlotte Hornets, Tatum recorded 41 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists to lead the Celtics to their first win of the season.[86] On January 23, 2022, Tatum scored a then season-high 51 points along with 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and a career-high 9 three-pointers in a blowout 116–87 win over the Washington Wizards.[87] On February 3, Tatum was selected for his third consecutive All-Star appearance.[88] On March 3, Tatum scored 21 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists in a 120–107 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.[89] The following game, Tatum topped his season-high with 54 points, 34 of them in the second half in a 126–120 win over the Brooklyn Nets. This was the fourth time Tatum had netted 50+ points in a game in his career, tying Larry Bird for the most 50-point games in Celtics history.[90][91] On March 7, Tatum was named Eastern Conference player of the week after averaging 41.3 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, and 5.0 assists per game.[92] The next game, Tatum scored 16 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter in a 115–101 win over the Charlotte Hornets.[93] On March 18, in a 126–97 win over the Sacramento Kings, Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored at least 30 points in the same game for the fourth time in the season and eight time overall; this tied the record of most such games with fellow Celtics' Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, who also recorded four such games in the 1986–87 NBA season.[94][95] The following game, in a 124–104 victory over the Denver Nuggets, Tatum and Jaylen Brown broke the record by both scoring 30 points with over 60% shooting from the field.[96] On March 28, Tatum became the first player in franchise history to be named Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks.[97]

On April 17, during Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, Tatum logged 31 points and eight assists. He hit the game-winning layup to defeat the Brooklyn Nets, 115–114.[98] On April 23, Tatum scored 39 points along with 5 rebounds, 6 assists and a playoff career-high 6 steals in a 109–103 Game 3 win.[99] Two days later, Tatum and the Celtics swept the Nets 116–112, to advance to the 2nd round of the playoffs.[100] On 9 May, in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Tatum recorded 30 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists in a 116–108 win over the reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks to tie the series at 2–2.[101] In Game 6 of the series, on May 13, Tatum scored 46 points along with 9 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the Celtics to a 108–95 win and force a game 7 in Boston.[102] Two days later in Game 7, Tatum posted 23 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists in a 109–81 win over the Bucks, thus securing the Celtics a place in the Eastern Conference Finals.[103] On 23 May, in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Tatum recorded 31 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in a 102–82 blowout win over the Miami Heat to tie the series at 2–2.[104] In the decisive Game 7 of the series, he tallied 26 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in a 100–96 win over Miami to lead the Celtics to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010. Tatum was named the inaugural Eastern Conference Finals MVP after averaging 25.0 points, 8 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game in the series.[105] During Game 1 of the Finals, Tatum led the Celtics to a 120–108 win over the Golden State Warriors with 13 assists, the most assists recorded by a player in his Finals debut.[106] The Celtics took a 2–1 series lead, but eventually lost in 6 games.[107] Tatum set the all-time NBA record with 100 turnovers in a single postseason.[108]

As of 2017, Tatum is a spokesperson for Imo's Pizza.[119] On June 21, 2019, Tatum signed with the Jordan Brand.[120] He is also endorsed by Subway[121] and Gatorade.[122]