For the past decade, the Boston Celtics have been a staple in the NBA Playoffs. It’s officially been more than 10 years since the Celtics missed the postseason, and for most of that time, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been leading the way. Last season, they finally got over the hump, winning Banner 18 for the organization.
Alongside the Celtics have been plenty of other elite playoff teams around the league. Squads like the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, and Denver Nuggets have been relative staples, too, but none come anywhere close to the Golden State Warriors. It’s been a dominant stretch for the Dubs.
Yet Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have still managed to eclipse Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have played more Conference Finals minutes than Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson
Curry and Thompson are widely regarded as the best backcourt in NBA history. They have enjoyed unbelievable success together, winning four championships alongside Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, and others.
For years, Curry, Thompson, and company led the Warriors on deep playoff run after deep playoff run. But still, Tatum and Brown find themselves above Curry and Thompson in one key category.
Both have played in more Conference Finals minutes than Curry, Thompson, and Green.
Throughout the course of his career, Tatum has logged 1,259 minutes in the Conference Finals, and Brown has played 1,258 minutes. Meanwhile, Curry is at 1,179, Green is at 1,167, and Thompson is at 1,145.
Thinking through NBA history, Curry and Thompson have their place amongst the elites. They have won at the highest level time and time again, and they’ve earned the respect that comes with that.
So to see that Tatum and Brown are not just on par with them, but above them in terms of playing in the conference finals gives some important context regarding where they are at in their careers.
Though they have only won a single championship, they’ve had playoff success on par with some of the best winners in the game today, and at just 27 and 28 years old, they still have plenty of time to keep pushing forward in their own pursuits of championships.
Obviously, both have a very long way to go until they catch up to Curry and Thompson in titles. And with the level of talent in the NBA today, there’s a chance they may never reach that peak. But the fact that they have already had as much success as they have provides perfect context of how elite their careers have been thus far.