Boston Celtics: Jayson Tatum’s 2020-21 Season Graded

Simply put, this was an amazing year for Boston Celtics stud, Jayson Tatum.

The fourth-year player quickly went from perennial All-Star to no doubt superstar after having classic performance after classic performance.

Unfortunately, he was (wrongly) not rewarded with a spot on any of the All-NBA teams after making the third team the previous season.

With that being said, Tatum still put up ridiculous numbers and stat lines throughout the season.

In 64 of a possible 72 games, Jayson Tatum averaged 26.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game in the 2021 season on 57.6 percent true shooting.

For reference, in the 2020 season, he played in 66 of 72 possible games and averaged 23.4 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and 1.4 steals per game on 56.7 percent true shooting.

In addition to the obvious jumps in points and assists, there were many other intriguing stats to pull from Tatum’s stellar year with the Boston Celtics:

• First career triple-double
  • On April 19th, Tatum had 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists in a six-point loss to the Chicago Bulls
• Set a new career-high in AST/TO ratio at 1.61 (last season he sat at 1.29)
  • A great sign for Tatum to take another playmaking leap after showing flashes all year
• Scored 9.9 points in the paint per game
  • Another new career-high, this was a product of Tatum becoming more aggressive and consistently getting to the rim more efficiently
  • Set career-highs in FG% from 0-3 feet (74%) and 3-10 feet (42%), according to basketball reference.

Tatum also exploded as a scoring threat, proving he could score from all three levels while dropping 40 or more points on multiple occasions:

• Scored 40 in a loss against Toronto back in January
  • 13 free throws made!
• Then he had 50 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists in a win against Minnesota a few months later in April
  • 15 free throws made!
• A week later, Tatum had 44 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists in a primetime win against Golden State
• Then, two weeks after that, he led a 32-point comeback win against San Antonio, scoring 60 points to go with 8 rebounds and 5 assists
  • 15 free throws made!
• Next, Tatum set a record for points in a Play-In game, dropping 50 against Washington with 8 rebounds and 4 assists, don’t forget the win
  • 17 free throws made!
• Finally, he finished the year by averaging 30.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists with 1.2 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game over the 5-game series against BRK
  • Including a 50 point game three win (13 free throws made!) and a 40 point game four loss (17 free throws made!)
• Not to mention the other 16 games where Tatum scored between 30-39 points

Now, I bring up the free throws for these performances because there was a clear correlation between Tatum’s high-scoring games and the number of free-throw trips he had.

And this isn’t anything new. The mark of the best scorers in NBA history is how often they get to the foul line.

They’re called free throws for a reason.

All of this goes to show how complete of a player Jayson Tatum is becoming. Not only can he attack you from anywhere in the half-court offensively but he remains an elite, all-defensive level defender and a rising playmaker, as I mentioned earlier.

With that said, I’ve had the conversation many times over the past couple of months about where Tatum lands on the ultimate NBA rankings.

Time and time again I always say he’s around top-10.

I don’t think it’s unrealistic to say that, under the right circumstances and with the right luck, he could be a legit MVP candidate in the 2022 season.

So I ask, why were there multiple occasions during this past season where Boston Celtics media members were trying to trade him???

Not only has Tatum shown love to the Boston community, but the Boston community has shown love right back.

Not to mention, Tatum had his awesome 2021 season while dealing with COVID-19 mid-season.

It’s clear to me that he has another level to play up to.

I’ve talked about the scoring; he can create his own shot, he can hit contested middies and threes, and now he can drive to the rim efficiently.

Defensively, Tatum is at an all-defensive team level. He can stick with the top forwards in the league, he has active hands, and he understands passing lanes.

As for playmaking, this is his worst category but even then, he’s above average. Since the bubble in Orlando, Tatum has averaged over four assists a game while showing flashes of great vision.

Overall, I don’t think it’s crazy to say that next season he can average 28 points, eight rebounds, and five assists with two stocks (steals+blocks) a game.

With that said, I’m officially giving Jayson Tatum an ‘A’ for his performance in the 2020-2021 NBA season.