Colin Cowherd: Jayson Tatum wouldn't make Celtics' all-time second team with title

To be in the upper echelon of Boston Celtics history, you need to win championships. With Jayson Tatum on the verge of reaching the mountaintop, it's a good time to check in on where he will vault to among Celtic greats. 

Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports feels that Tatum, even with a potential title, will not vault that high.

In fact, Cowherd is not even sure if Tatum would make the all-time second team. Does he bring up a fair point?

Tatum has had one of the most impressive starts to a career in Cs history and NBA history. Winning a championship this season would validate Tatum as one of the next all-time great NBA players. Also, I think it's fair to say that Tatum would become the third-best Celtics player of the 21st century behind Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. 

Youth holding Jayson Tatum back from being considered an all-time Boston Celtics great

Ultimately, what’s holding Tatum back from joining the top tier of Celtics greats is his youth. The one part where I do agree with Cowherd is that the standard is different in Boston. One title is simply not going to be enough to vault Tatum into the upper echelon when Bill Russell and Larry Bird-led teams won multiple titles. Tatum also needs to win individual accolades like the MVP award. 

However, one thing I will say is that it's unfair to put Tatum in this conversation when he still entering the prime of his career. The career story arc has not been written yet for Tatum and he still has plenty more years to reach the promised land and stack up awards. I think winning a title this season would put Tatum on a path to being one of the best players in franchise history.

When you consider how great Tatum has been and project how dominant he can be during his prime, it's hard to see a world where he doesn’t finish in the same company as Russell, Bird, and Pierce.