Nine new inductees made their way into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield over the weekend, including Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Sue Bird, and Maya Moore. Each year, the induction ceremony serves as the signal that the abyss that is the NBA offseason is almost over.
The Boston Celtics are no strangers to the Hoop Hall, with over 40 members of the organization in one way or another having been inducted. It has, however, been a few years since a (primarily) Celtic player has gone in, with the last being Paul Pierce in 2021.
When thinking of who could be next, there’s of course, someone like Al Horford, who had a tremendous college and pro career, and will likely be retiring soon. But what about someone like Jayson Tatum, who probably has over half of his career still ahead of him? Tatum seems like a lock if he keeps up the play that we’ve all seen from him in his eight seasons in Boston.
There’s even a chance he’d get in if he never played another game in the NBA (knock on wood).
Would he?
Let’s talk about it.
Jayson Tatum might already have a Hall-of-Fame resume
The Celtics star has an impressive resume already.
Since being drafted No. 3 overall by the Celtics in 2017, Tatum has appeared in 585 career games, where he’s averaged 26.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per outing. These stats are even more impressive when you consider that he wasn’t tasked with being the top-scoring option in Boston until his third season.
Winning has been a constant for the Cs during his tenure. They’ve made more Eastern Conference Finals (five) than they’ve missed (three), have made two NBA Finals appearances, and, of course, won it all in 2024. In fact, Boston hasn’t missed the playoffs with Tatum on its roster.
The 27-year-old has earned himself plenty of accolades throughout his young career, too. He’s been named to the 2017-2018 All-Rookie first team, six All-Star teams, and five All-NBA teams, while taking home the 2023 All-Star game MVP award and the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
Over the past four seasons, Tatum has been a staple in the top six MVP vote-getters, finishing in the top four twice. His impact on the team’s success is undeniable.
Sure, I could probably just lay out Tatum’s resume and say I think he’s already secured himself a spot in Springfield. Instead, let’s take a look at the resumes of a few other recent inductees.
Tatum stacks up well against recent inductees like Vince Carter, Tim Hardaway, and Chris Bosh
Last year, Vince Carter headlined the Hall of Fame class after 22 seasons in the NBA. It’s pretty wild to think he played nearly triple the number of years that Tatum has to this point.
Carter appeared in 1541 career games for eight different teams, most notably the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets. He averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per outing. Those numbers don’t tell the entire story since he played for so long. It’s almost like he had two careers in one. In the first, he was a superstar, and in the back half, he was more of a role player.
The Hall-of-Famer earned some accolades in the superstar years, racking up eight All-Star appearances to go along with two All-NBA selections and the 1999 Rookie of the Year award.
Despite great individual success at times, Carter’s teams never really made much noise in the playoffs. His lone Conference Finals appearance came with the Orlando Magic in 2010, when he was transitioning from being “the guy” to more of a role player.
Nonetheless, his longevity alone is an impressive feat, never mind the level he played at for many years.
Tim Hardaway Sr., a 2022 inductee, played 13 seasons in the league, primarily with the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat.
He appeared in 867 total games, averaging 17.7 points, 8.2 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per appearance. Hardaway racked up five All-Star and five All-NBA selections and was also named to the 1990 All-Rookie team.
At his peak, he found himself in the top 10 of MVP voting three times.
Hardaway’s teams found their way to the playoffs nine times, and he helped the Heat reach their first Conference Finals in 1997.
Chris Bosh got his orange jacket a year before Hardaway, after playing 13 seasons in the NBA with the Raptors and Heat.
Bosh suited up in 893 total games and posted impressive averages at 19.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and a block per game.
The Dallas native made 11 straight All-Star appearances before his career was cut short due to a series of blood-clotting issues. Bosh also earned an All-Rookie selection in 2004 and two All-NBA selections.
In the early 2010s, Bosh’s Heat teams were playoff juggernauts, making four straight NBA Finals appearances and winning two titles in that span.
Carter, Hardaway, and Bosh all had Hall-of-Fame careers. There’s no disputing that they deserve their place in Springfield. The interesting part of this is that Tatum has similar individual accolades to the trio, through the early portion of his NBA career, not to mention, again, how successful he and Boston have been in that time.
When stacking his resume next to these other Hoop Hall members, it’s tough to argue that he doesn’t already have a place next to them.