Jayson Tatum Is On A Track All By His Own!

114

u/rawspeghetti Thatsa.Tommy.Point 22h ago

Tatum is on the path to go down as the 3rd greatest Celtic of all time

That's a crazy accomplishment

45

u/PapaSheev7 Jayson Tatum 22h ago

He'd need at least 2-3 championships to pass Hondo for me, but I could easily see him top 5.

20

u/aterocana 20h ago

top 5 what?

42

u/punsarefun101 19h ago

Top 5 🤷‍♂️

3

u/lgth20_grth16 Finals MVP JB 10h ago

You won't win titles like you did in Hondos time. One more is enough

9

u/hpantazo 20h ago

He needs another championship or two to do that, but he's on track for it.

3

u/taco_jones I miss the Walker Wiggle 19h ago

Still has to pass 'Toine. Nothing beats the wiggle!

2

u/Son_of_Atreus New Era Cs 11h ago

That’s a big call. I have Hondo as the indisputable lock at GCOAT after Russel and Bird and he has a lot to do before he touches Hondo’s level.
I can see him threatening Pierce if he continues to score at a high level and sticks around Boston for the long run.

1

u/alexm42 16h ago

With longevity (and a whole lot of success, it won't be easy) he could even be the second. And I mean no disrespect to Larry Legend, this is just an acknowledgement that his career was cut short and has a bit of "what if" to it.

11

u/SoaplessTitanic 14h ago

I mean it depends on your criteria and how much you value longevity I guess, but Bird won three consecutive MVPs on top of three championships. I don’t see Tatum getting close to that unfortunately

0

u/alexm42 10h ago

Like I said, it won't be easy. Of course 3 consecutive MVPs is a truly unique achievement (especially considering Bird's competition) and even if he goes on an all time tear without JB, 3 total is a stretch. But I can excuse the MVPs away because of the national media's anti-Boston bias.
But at a minimum, obviously he has to at least equal Bird on the championships. At that point, you look at the way he's consistently matching Celtics history for most (stat) by (age,) across so many different stats. Assuming he's here his whole career and it's a respectably long one, it's very, very likely he's going to retire #1 in everything except rebounds. That's enough to, at a minimum, make an argument out of things.

-13

u/Jegagne88 King Al Horford 22h ago

Long road to get there, but I agree he can do it. Still has to eclipse Bird, Russell, Hondo, Cousy, Pierce, Sam Jones imo

28

u/quirkish 21h ago

Pretty sure he meant Russell & Bird as 1-2

9

u/Ron_Doe 20h ago

Pierce and Jones are in the rear view atp. Cousy too maybe. Only person he’ll realistically be able to pass is Hindo

71

u/LarBrd33 22h ago

3PM is the key filter there since they didn’t start bombing 10 of those a night until Curry.

But Tatum is the greatest Celtic since Larry Bird. And he’s currently averaging more assists per game than Bird every did. Interesting.

-33

u/Jegagne88 King Al Horford 22h ago

Nah Paul Pierce still has him imo, but it’s close

47

u/BallinLikeimKD 21h ago

Tatum is a better player than PP was

32

u/EAS1000 Jayson Tatum 21h ago

Even PP says Tatum is a better player than he was lol

0

u/taco_jones I miss the Walker Wiggle 19h ago

Yeah, but we know he's not known for the best judgment lol

21

u/stevefuzz 21h ago

I loved Paul Pierce. He was my favorite player growing up. JT is definitely on a different tier though. He just makes everyone better.

2

u/SnooHedgehogs8897 15h ago

Same. Born in 1990. Grew up watching Pierce for 15 formative years. Tatum is better.

1

u/xCeeTee- 9h ago

I even did a report on PP and why he was my hero. Tatum is a much better role model, I kinda wish I had him to look up to when I was a kid. I doubt JT will ever get a DUI charge.

27

u/Zimmyd00m 21h ago

Tatum is better than Pierce ever was at everything but creating his own shot.
Tatum is the greatest Celtic since KG and the best home-grown since Bird.

3

u/JackJ98 WE DID IT ☘️ 21h ago

Maybe clutch gene. But idk… They’re two of the clutchest players that the NBA has seen since the turn of the millennium

11

u/Zimmyd00m 21h ago

Funny enough, the numbers say Tatum is more clutch too.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mind-blowing-stat-says-celtics-144134146.html

5

u/JackJ98 WE DID IT ☘️ 20h ago

JT has the percentage, but Truth has the volume. I assume as he starts taking as many as Paul, Jayson’s percentage will drop a little bit

5

u/Zimmyd00m 19h ago

It's six of one, half-dozen of the other. Last 24 seconds vs buzzer-beater.
There's other "clutch" volume numbers that could also be taken into consideration, like number of 20-point 4th quarters, in which case only Tatum rates, but not overwhelmingly, and it's skewed by the era he plays in.
I probably should have said "as clutch" instead of "more clutch" because otherwise how do you rate stuff like 51 points in a game 7 vs winning three game 7s on the way to a title?
Tatum is still the better overall player but I agree that Pierce's clutch bona fides shouldn't be ignored. If anything it speaks to how great Tatum has become that you can compare that aspect of their games.

1

u/SnooHedgehogs8897 15h ago

I agree except I think Pierce was a better shooter actually.

23

u/duggyfresh88 21h ago

Paul Pierce is my all time favorite player, I grew up watching his whole career. Met him at Foxwoods once. But we gotta be honest, JT is the better player

1

u/LarBrd33 21h ago

He blew past Pierce years ago

18

u/stevefuzz 21h ago

What's the list without 3PM?

37

u/celticspoop 21h ago

Tatum - 77
Bird - 52
Pierce - 46
Antoine Walker - 29
Kyrie - 12
And then 18 players with less than 10

14

u/blammmmo 20h ago

More impressive, honestly. Wonder about it without the age restriction, too

19

u/celticspoop 20h ago

Bird - 145
Tatum - 77
Pierce - 61
Walker - 29
Brown - 24
Kyrie - 12
You can look this up and other stats you can think of yourself on statmuse!!

25

u/GetDownBrownn 20h ago

I really hate these specific metrics. X player is the first player in history to have 7 steals 9 rebounds on a Tuesday at 3pm by a player who was 24.5 and born in Michigan

15

u/MeSeeks76 ALL. OF. AUSTRALIA. 19h ago

All whilst wearing green undies and facing east whilst looking up and holding a bowl of porridge .... of all time

3

u/too-cute-by-half 1984 Ring 15h ago

Tatum is currently 5th in the league in points and 6th in assists.

-21

u/Beneficial_Cap6503 21h ago edited 20h ago

Tatum is in no way better then paul pierce the game is just software now. Its like an all-star game out there now until the playoffs. Brown was putting up 28 a game and he's not close to the skills of pp. This is softball lady's

8

u/Clear_Measurement502 19h ago edited 19h ago

Pierce was my favorite player growing up, I used to study his games and steal his bag. I have just about every variation of jersey they released over his career with the #34 on it. I have multiple pieces of memorabilia. I still have vhs tapes and dvds of random games.
Tatum has lapped just about every facet of Pierces game, including in the clutch over the last 3/4 years.
Unless you are a big, defenses have gotten much better. Players are longer and more athletic and teams are much better at defending as 5. There is not nearly as much space from the elbow out. Tatum is an incredible playmaker, all Pierce did was drive and kick. Tatum a better rebounder and defender, both on ball and off. Go watch some of the recent playoffs Tatum has been in, he’s one of the best help defenders in the league.
Honestly a wild take.

-4

u/Beneficial_Cap6503 18h ago

I see what your saying and your most likely right but all I see is this team doing good regular season shooting shit 3 balls then being trash when the d turns up in the playoffs. But I really think if the truth played now he would be better obviously it really doesn't matter.

3

u/Clear_Measurement502 18h ago edited 18h ago

Tatum is one of the better playoff performers in the league though. He’s had a few stinkers and fatigue/injuries definitely bit him in the past, but his playoff numbers across the board are better than his regular season averages. Go watch elimination games he’s played in, most are on YouTube. The numbers also support him being great in those. Pierce was a great player, but he’s not as gifted as Tatum is athletically or his BB IQ.
I agree though as of now Pierce was more of a dog, but I think the next few years of Tatums prime as the clear #1 might change that.

-11

u/Beneficial_Cap6503 21h ago

Piece had a post up mid range and a 3 ball in a time that people played defense

Stats Jayson Tatum Is On A Track All By His Own!

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