From Star to Superstar: Tatum’s playmaking was the final piece

Since coming into the league, Jayson Tatum has been heralded as one of many NBA’s most dynamic scorers. With a 6’10” body and one of many smoothest jumpers within the recreation, he lengthy relied on his scoring prowess to propel the Celtics to victories.

Tatum’s elite offensive arsenal made him a star, however for years, the “famous person” label remained simply out of attain. The media and followers alike questioned whether or not he may elevate his teammates the best way MVP front-runners like Luka Dončić and Nikola Jokić do. Whereas his scoring, protection, and rebounding had been elite, his playmaking saved him only a tier beneath the sport’s most elite firm.

Tatum has heard these critics, and he has labored tirelessly to earn his place on the unique famous person desk. The consequence? An entire transformation for the MVP candidate. His evolution as a passer has not solely raised the sky-high ceiling for the Celtics however has additionally cemented his standing as a generational expertise.

After main Boston to a championship final season, Tatum may have simply been content material together with his position—an elite scorer who made the appropriate performs when needed. However as an alternative of being snug, he doubled down. He’s averaging a career-high 5.8 assists per recreation this season, with an much more spectacular 6.8 per recreation in February. Of his 14 profession video games with 10+ assists, seven have come this season alone.

However these assists aren’t simply glamourous stat-padding values for JT; they’re immediately resulting in Celtics wins. In Celtics losses this season, Tatum has averaged 5.0 assists per recreation. In victories, that quantity jumps to six.1. His utilization proportion follows the same sample: 28% in losses, 32% in wins. When the offense flows by way of Tatum, Boston thrives — a notion that hasn’t at all times been true all through his profession.

However why does he have such a big effect? As among the best scoring threats within the NBA, he instructions fixed consideration from opposing defenses. Whether or not it’s defenders collapsing when he drives or complete groups scheming round his gravity, Tatum forces opponents into unattainable decisions. And now, together with his improved imaginative and prescient, he’s exploiting these weaknesses higher than ever.

The sport has slowed down for Tatum, and it exhibits. Whereas lots of his assists final yr got here off of double groups and respectable drive-and-dish performs, Tatum is now manipulating defenses. He’s coming off of screens, drawing two defenders, and throwing the ball to the place his teammates will likely be, not the place they already are.

Even when he’s not drawing assist defenders, he makes use of his scoring risk as a playmaking device. One of the best instance of this comes together with his pick-and-roll chemistry with Kristaps Porziņģis. When Tatum doesn’t create for himself or lob it to KP, he masterfully makes use of a watch pretend to control the nook defender, creating an open three for a teammate. Performs like this aren’t simply flashes of brilliance—they’re changing into routine:

As if the Celtics wanted any extra firepower, their finest participant has taken one other leap. Boston was already a championship workforce earlier than this evolution, and now, Tatum’s refined playmaking is simply one other weapon of their arsenal.

The scariest half? He’s solely scratching the floor. As a five-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA First Staff choice, and a reigning champion, Tatum is miraculously simply coming into his prime. Along with his twenty seventh birthday approaching, there are not any extra weaknesses in his recreation—he’s formally the engine of the Celtics’ offense. The “famous person” label isn’t up for debate anymore.

Jayson acknowledged early this week that he needed to be a generation-defining participant like LeBron James or Stephen Curry. Congratulations, Jayson. It seems such as you’re effectively in your means.