How much pressure are Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown under to win?

Playing in Beantown and for the Boston Celtics brings a remarkable amount of pressure on an athlete. A star player or duo, say for example, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, are experiencing pressure like no other in their pursuit of Banner 18. I would argue that they are under the most pressure or in the conversation of any duo in the NBA this season.

After a loss in the NBA Finals a season ago, where they held a 2-1 lead over the Golden State Warriors, Tatum and Brown have responded with strong starts to this season that have the Celtics sitting with the best record in the NBA. Tatum is averaging a career-high 30.6 points per game, and Brown is averaging a career-high 26.6 points per game. The ‘Jays’ have separated themselves from the rest of the NBA as they are the best duo.

The duo also proved this during the All-Star game, where they were the two best players on the court. Tatum had a record 55 points and 10 rebounds, while Brown had a Team-Lebron-high 35 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. The league is taking notice of the Boston Celtics pair, and I think most people know that it’s not long before they take over the NBA and start winning titles.

A crazy nugget from this season is that the Jays have each scored 30 points in the same game nine times this season, which is on the level of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. When you start being mentioned in the same conversation as Shaq and Kobe, pressure will follow.

The elite play has led some media outlets to place pressure on the Celtics stars. For example, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN First Take ranked Tatum third on his list of players under the most pressure to win a title. I agree with Stephen A., and I would throw Brown into that category as well. When you play for the Boston Celtics, and you have a team as good as this year, there is no excuse for not winning the title.

If the Boston Celtics fail to win the title this year, the haters will come back and say that the Jays can’t play or win together. That’s what makes this year so crucial because I feel that if the Jays can get the job done this year, we could be looking at the next NBA dynasty.