Boston Celtics: Jayson Tatum breaks longtime franchise scoring record
By Jon Jacobson
Jayson Tatum added to his historic season and MVP campaign during Monday night’s Boston Celtics win over the Chicago Bulls, passing the great John Havlicek for most points ever scored by a Celtics player in the first half of the season.
According to C’s radio announcer Sean Grande, Tatum passed Hondo’s record after hitting back-to-back threes in the third quarter.
Back to back 3's for Jayson Tatum and yet another milestone.
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) January 10, 2023
With a quarter and half left in Game 41, the most points ever scored by a Celtic in the first half of the season... pic.twitter.com/lNFZzgby7g
Jayson Tatum Monday not only became the first Celtic to score 1,200 points in the first half of the season, he and Luka Doncic were the only ones to do it in the NBA this year. pic.twitter.com/rXeUr4kgpK
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) January 10, 2023
Havlicek’s 52-year-old record was no match for the 24-year-old Tatum, who finished the night with a game-high 32 points and raised his season average to 30.8 PPG.
Currently ranked as a top-five MVP candidate, Tatum remains on pace to break plenty more franchise records this year while hopefully leading Boston to another title run. Ultimately, adding the main piece of hardware a superstar could target could be what defines his Cs tenure.
Players that don’t win rarely stick around when winning doesn’t come, and there are other teams monitoring the forward’s eventual free agency. Solidifying his place at the top of the NBA hierarchy along with the rest of the Boston Celtics — guys like Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III are similarly career in-greeners — is what will define whether he is a generational great or not.
The Boston Celtics are the team to beat as of now in the 2022-23 season
The Celtics reach the halfway point of the 2022-23 season with the NBA’s best record and a target on their backs. Watch for this exciting young team to continue rising, especially if Brad Stevens acquires more shooting and roster depth.
All signs point to this being a very special season. Make sure to show Tatum and Jaylen Brown some love by voting them into the All-Star game. Tatum deserves to be a starter and Brown needs to be on the roster, both proudly representing the NBA’s top team at All-Star Weekend.