Is Jayson Tatum on his way to being viewed as the best player in the NBA?

[GOATTatum]

I had Tatum as a top 5 player this season and by next season he should be cemented at the clear cut best player in the NBA.

[HanzGruber]

Don’t see it happening. That Kobe esque style of play isn’t going to be the best in the current nba

[NZB2323]

When Paul Pierce won it all in 2008 and beat Lebron and Kobe was he considered the best player in the world?

KG was the best player on that Celtics team. Everyone knew that. Yeah Pierce had the Finals MVP, but KG was the best player. And I think most people would have said he was behind Lebron and Duncan.

Okay, but then my point still stands. KG wasn’t the best player in 08, Kawhi wasn’t the best player in 2014, Isiah Thomas wasn’t the best player in 1990, and Tatum isn’t the best player now even if he wins it all and gets Finals MVP.

Giannis just became the first player to ever have 200 points, 100 rebounds, and 50 assists in a playoff series, all while playing incredible defense.

Tatum is the best American player in the NBA, but he’s not better than Giannis, Doncic, Jokic, or Embiid.

[robbie84]

When Paul Pierce won it all in 2008 and beat Lebron and Kobe was he considered the best player in the world?

KG was the best player on that Celtics team. Everyone knew that. Yeah Pierce had the Finals MVP, but KG was the best player. And I think most people would have said he was behind Lebron and Duncan.

KG was the clear #2, however you slice it.

KG was the best player and the most important player. His defensive dominance is what won us that championship.
His 20.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists before taking in his DPOY defense and he was clearly the best player.
Paul Pierce averaged 19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists during those playoffs.

You sound like a complete casual saying 'KG was the clear #2' when he was undoubtedly the clear #1 lol

[robbie84]

Don’t see it happening. That Kobe esque style of play isn’t going to be the best in the current nba

Tell me you haven't watched Jayson Tatum play more than 5 minutes in the last 2 seasons without telling me...

[bearadonisdna]

Tatum is the guy who will guarantee you 20 points but he will be shooting 30 shots to insure it.

The higher efficiency is a plus. At times it can and will hurt the team . There’s times where he has been wildly inconsistent .
Had to be told to share the ball , as if.
The guy is playing great and so it team but pump the breaks .

#1 American player ? , I likely wouldn’t have him in my starting 5

[FluLikeSymptoms]

KG was the best player on that Celtics team. Everyone knew that. Yeah Pierce had the Finals MVP, but KG was the best player. And I think most people would have said he was behind Lebron and Duncan.

KG was the clear #2, however you slice it.

KG was the best player and the most important player. His defensive dominance is what won us that championship.
His 20.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists before taking in his DPOY defense and he was clearly the best player.
Paul Pierce averaged 19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists during those playoffs.

You sound like a complete casual saying 'KG was the clear #2' when he was undoubtedly the clear #1 lol

I watched every game. The offence revolved around Pierce. James Posey’s 3s and the refs helped a lot, too. It’s like saying AD was #1 in 2020.

[DroseReturnChi]

Don’t see it happening. That Kobe esque style of play isn’t going to be the best in the current nba

Tell me you haven't watched Jayson Tatum play more than 5 minutes in the last 2 seasons without telling me...

why would casual fans waste time watching on tatum when they are busy watching luka magic? hes not a top 5 talent i have repeatedly said hes not even top 10 and he got destroyed by mj's son who is not considered a top 10 player including myself.
tatum got screwed when he got kobe's teaching in the wrong way while kobe chucked a lot like tatum he had much higher iq and defense.

[og15]

I wouldn't say he would be viewed as the best player after winning a title, but he definitely becomes a superstar player. For the last few years, I have felt he is a legit all-star but not a superstar, but it looks like he's taking that leap in this year's playoffs.

If they win a title, he'll get that immediate post title boost, it happens all the time

Don’t see it happening. That Kobe esque style of play isn’t going to be the best in the current nba

Tell me you haven't watched Jayson Tatum play more than 5 minutes in the last 2 seasons without telling me...

why would casual fans waste time watching on tatum when they are busy watching luka magic? hes not a top 5 talent i have repeatedly said hes not even top 10 and he got destroyed by mj's son who is not considered a top 10 player including myself.
tatum got screwed when he got kobe's teaching in the wrong way while kobe chucked a lot like tatum he had much higher iq and defense.

I tried to follow this one, but got lost, who is MJ's son, Jimmy Butler? And you are included among the top players?

KG was the best player on that Celtics team. Everyone knew that. Yeah Pierce had the Finals MVP, but KG was the best player. And I think most people would have said he was behind Lebron and Duncan.

KG was the clear #2, however you slice it.

No, he was pretty clearly the best player on that team and was the primary contributing factor in their ATG defense.

Yea, I don't know what clear #2 is supposed to mean in this situation. If you mean offensive option, they gave KG the most shots, and he led them in ppg in 3/4 series' in 07-08. Pierce only led them in scoring in the finals. If the finals MVP was a whole playoffs MVP, KG would have won.

That teams offense for the talent they had did at many times see much tougher than it should have been. It's like they made things harder and less effective than they needed to, but Doc was also the coach and sometimes does weird things.

[dygaction]

I wouldn't say he would be viewed as the best player after winning a title, but he definitely becomes a superstar player. For the last few years, I have felt he is a legit all-star but not a superstar, but it looks like he's taking that leap in this year's playoffs.

If they win a title, he'll get that immediate post title boost, it happens all the time

Tell me you haven't watched Jayson Tatum play more than 5 minutes in the last 2 seasons without telling me...

why would casual fans waste time watching on tatum when they are busy watching luka magic? hes not a top 5 talent i have repeatedly said hes not even top 10 and he got destroyed by mj's son who is not considered a top 10 player including myself.
tatum got screwed when he got kobe's teaching in the wrong way while kobe chucked a lot like tatum he had much higher iq and defense.

I tried to follow this one, but got lost, who is MJ's son, Jimmy Butler? And you are included among the top players?

KG was the clear #2, however you slice it.

No, he was pretty clearly the best player on that team and was the primary contributing factor in their ATG defense.

Yea, I don't know what clear #2 is supposed to mean in this situation. If you mean offensive option, they gave KG the most shots, and he led them in ppg in 3/4 series' in 07-08. Pierce only led them in scoring in the finals. If the finals MVP was a whole playoffs MVP, KG would have won.

That teams offense for the talent they had did at many times see much tougher than it should have been. It's like they made things harder and less effective than they needed to, but Doc was also the coach and sometimes does weird things.

Was scoring the only thing they looked at back then for Finals MVP voting? I think it was more because Pierce was the main offense option and initiator. Otherwise how one explains Iguodala won it over Curry with 10ppg less.

[FluLikeSymptoms]

I wouldn't say he would be viewed as the best player after winning a title, but he definitely becomes a superstar player. For the last few years, I have felt he is a legit all-star but not a superstar, but it looks like he's taking that leap in this year's playoffs.

If they win a title, he'll get that immediate post title boost, it happens all the time

Tell me you haven't watched Jayson Tatum play more than 5 minutes in the last 2 seasons without telling me...

why would casual fans waste time watching on tatum when they are busy watching luka magic? hes not a top 5 talent i have repeatedly said hes not even top 10 and he got destroyed by mj's son who is not considered a top 10 player including myself.
tatum got screwed when he got kobe's teaching in the wrong way while kobe chucked a lot like tatum he had much higher iq and defense.

I tried to follow this one, but got lost, who is MJ's son, Jimmy Butler? And you are included among the top players?

KG was the clear #2, however you slice it.

No, he was pretty clearly the best player on that team and was the primary contributing factor in their ATG defense.

Yea, I don't know what clear #2 is supposed to mean in this situation. If you mean offensive option, they gave KG the most shots, and he led them in ppg in 3/4 series' in 07-08. Pierce only led them in scoring in the finals. If the finals MVP was a whole playoffs MVP, KG would have won.

That teams offense for the talent they had did at many times see much tougher than it should have been. It's like they made things harder and less effective than they needed to, but Doc was also the coach and sometimes does weird things.

That is what I meant. They were the Paul Pierces, even if he wasn’t the actual best player. The offence ran through him. Maybe it needed to, maybe it didn’t.

[Ice Man]

It's interesting how Jayson Tatum is universally viewed as a better regular-season player than Jimmy Butler, although Jimmy was the best player on the #1 seed and Tatum the best player on the #2 seed.

The numbers, you say? Butler recorded the higher PER among the two players, the higher VORP score, more Win Shares, and did all that with MUCH lower usage. Heck, Jimmy Butler not only had lower usage than Tatum, but also than Jaylen Brown. Oh,and Butler got those Win Shares and VORP numbers while playing 11 fewer games than Tatum.

The numbers say that Butler was easily the better regular-season player. So why does pretty much everybody believe the reverse?

[BBallFreak]

It's interesting how Jayson Tatum is universally viewed as a better regular-season player than Jimmy Butler, although Jimmy was the best player on the #1 seed and Tatum the best player on the #2 seed.

The numbers, you say? Butler recorded the higher PER among the two players, the higher VORP score, more Win Shares, and did all that with MUCH lower usage. Heck, Jimmy Butler not only had lower usage than Tatum, but also than Jaylen Brown. Oh,and Butler got those Win Shares and VORP numbers while playing 11 fewer games than Tatum.

The numbers say that Butler was easily the better regular-season player. So why does pretty much everybody believe the reverse?

It's the flavor of the month. People want to see young stars emerge. That, and Jimmy has always been underrated and over looked. People have always thought of him as a second or third option because of how he started out in the league. People don't like to change...

[jstudabaka]

It looks set up for Tatum. Giannis, Joker, and Luka to vie for the crown

[Ice Man]

It looks set up for Tatum. Giannis, Joker, and Luka to vie for the crown

Jayson isn't yet at the level of those guys. But he's young, skilled, and athletic enough to get there.

[og15]

I wouldn't say he would be viewed as the best player after winning a title, but he definitely becomes a superstar player. For the last few years, I have felt he is a legit all-star but not a superstar, but it looks like he's taking that leap in this year's playoffs.

If they win a title, he'll get that immediate post title boost, it happens all the time

why would casual fans waste time watching on tatum when they are busy watching luka magic? hes not a top 5 talent i have repeatedly said hes not even top 10 and he got destroyed by mj's son who is not considered a top 10 player including myself.
tatum got screwed when he got kobe's teaching in the wrong way while kobe chucked a lot like tatum he had much higher iq and defense.

I tried to follow this one, but got lost, who is MJ's son, Jimmy Butler? And you are included among the top players?

No, he was pretty clearly the best player on that team and was the primary contributing factor in their ATG defense.

Yea, I don't know what clear #2 is supposed to mean in this situation. If you mean offensive option, they gave KG the most shots, and he led them in ppg in 3/4 series' in 07-08. Pierce only led them in scoring in the finals. If the finals MVP was a whole playoffs MVP, KG would have won.

That teams offense for the talent they had did at many times see much tougher than it should have been. It's like they made things harder and less effective than they needed to, but Doc was also the coach and sometimes does weird things.

That is what I meant. They were the Paul Pierces, even if he wasn’t the actual best player. The offence ran through him. Maybe it needed to, maybe it didn’t.

Well, in the regular season, KG played fewer minutes, so his stats were lower, but when they were on the court together, they didn't go to Pierce more than KG. Now late in games for an isolation, they would go to Pierce more, but that's generally how it is with most wings and bigs.

I don't remember any indication that there was any clear distinctive hierarchy in scoring and the numbers looking back don't suggest that either. The only clear one was that Ray was the #3 option.

[JayMKE]

He's a tier below the top 5 perennial MVP guys right now, you couldn't put him on another team like the Bucks or Mavs or Nuggets and expect same results. Needs to be more consistent and not disappear in games, a lot of time his teammates take the spotlight in Boston. Dude is 24 tho and Boston shouldn't be slowing down any time soon, crazy amount of basketball left for him to play and mature into.

[SA37]

What is this nonsense?

Tatum could be viewed as a top-10 player, but not top-5. Jokic - Embiid - Doncic - Giannis are all superior players. That leaves Tatum battling for one of the next 6 spots against guys like LeBron, Kawhi, Curry, Butler, Morant, Durant, Irving, Harden, Lillard, and A Davis.

[BodieB]

What is this nonsense?

Tatum could be viewed as a top-10 player, but not top-5. Jokic - Embiid - Doncic - Giannis are all superior players. That leaves Tatum battling for one of the next 6 spots against guys like LeBron, Kawhi, Curry, Butler, Morant, Durant, Irving, Harden, Lillard, and A Davis.

Embiid misses 20 games a year, throws his teammates under the bus, and is always injured when his team needs him in the playoffs. Tatum has none of those flaws and one of the reasons his teams consistently make playoffs runs.

[Cavsfansince84]

He'll be seen as top 5(probably) in a couple years when Curry, KD and LeBron have all fully aged out of the convo. Top 10 is more his destiny though. He's a good example of how scorers always get slightly overrated.