The Boston Celtics had their eyes set on Jayson Tatum throughout the entire 2017 NBA Draft process. Now, in 2019-20, he’s finally shinning as an NBA star.
Let’s not forget the Boston Celtics owned the number one overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. But after a controversial decision, Danny Ainge agreed trade draft selections with the Philadelphia 76ers, who owned the rights to the third overall pick.
The trade would give the Boston Celtics the third overall pick in the draft for the second straight year, along with a future first-round pick. The 76ers would go on to select Markelle Fultz, while the Celtics were able to land the player they had their eyes on throughout the entire draft process… Jayson Tatum.
For Tatum, being a “one and done” in college wasn’t surprising, as he’s been on the fast track his entire life. In his lone season at Duke, Tatum averaged 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in 29 games for the Blue Devils.
The more surprising part of Tatum’s development came from all the expectations. Tatum was forced to start in his rookie year in place of the injured All-Star forward Gordon Hayward.
During Tatum’s rookie season, he started 80 games and averaged 13.9 points, five rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. He showed very promising signs for Boston as a young player, even posterizing LeBron James in game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals — may we never forget.
Even with the internal issues that hovered the 2018-2019 Boston Celtics last season, Tatum still had a solid season. Tatum took more of a leap in his second year than people like to give him credit for. Last season he averaged 15.7 points, six rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.
During the offseason, Tatum made it a point to work on being more aggressive towards the hoop and getting to the free-throw line more often, while also shooting more consistently from behind the arc.
Last year, Jayson Tatum failed to live up to expectations. Here’s what he did about it:https://t.co/xcJaYChBpx
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) October 9, 2019
Actions have always proved to be more meaningful than words, and this season Tatum is staying true to his word. So far, Tatum is averaging 20.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.
Even though Jayson Tatum is considered to be young in the NBA, he has openly said he wants to be the face of the franchise and spend his entire career with the Boston Celtics.
The culture and atmosphere in the city of Boston is truly life-changing; especially for the athletes who represent the city. You can look at players like Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Morris who both positively altered their careers by playing in Boston.
During free-agency this past summer, Tatum’s name was being mentioned often in different trade scenarios involving Anthony Davis. Tatum expressed how he felt about the situation.
"“You start to understand that this is a business. I play basketball and I’ve just got to control what I can control, and I love being on the Celtics. I want to play there my whole career.” – Jayson Tatum, per John Tomase of WEEI"
Tatum spent his offseason playing for Team USA in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, along with some of his Boston Celtics teammates: Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, and Jaylen Brown.
It’s worth mentioning the Boston Celtics selected both Brown and Tatum in back-to-back years with the third overall selection after completing just one season of college ball.
Both Tatum and Brown are franchise players and even though they’re young, we hope they’ll both end their careers wearing the green & white in Boston.