The Boston Celtics came mighty close to winning their first title in 14 years, but ultimately the Golden State Warriors defeated them 4-2 in the Finals. A major part of the Celtics’ run all the way to the Finals was the performances by 24-year-old forward Jayson Tatum.
Tatum established himself as a superstar in his own right in these playoffs, clearly stood out for the Celtics. Often stepping up with big-time performances, many claimed that Tatum is a top 10 player in the league. Given his form, it was surprising to see that the 3-time All-Star fell flat in the Finals against the Warriors.
With a gritty defense of a Warriors team not giving him much room to assert his dominance offensively, the Celtics’ forward ended up averaging around 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists per game, a decent stat line, but nowhere near the level Tatum showed us.
NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor certainly had an interesting deduction about the 24-year-old’s performances. In a recent tweet, KOC claimed that Tatum still has a long way to go before becoming a talisman in a championship-caliber team.
Let's just be honest, Jayson Tatum looked more like a #2 than a #1 all series against the Warriors.
Tatum is 24 so there's plenty of time to grow into his prime, and he took steps forward this postseason for the Celtics. But he's not that guy just yet.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) June 17, 2022
The Celtics certainly impressed many with their incredible Eastern Conference run and JT was absolutely phenomenal in the same. He put up monstrous performances against the likes of the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, who have some of the biggest stars is no mean feat.
Not only did he show his offensive repertoire to fans, but he also displayed good defensive skills in his game. Tatum is still only 24 years old and yet to hit his prime. He is already terrorizing teams with his skills and the only way is up for the forward. The team around him also looks set.
The Celtics have a fine balance of veterans and players like Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, alongside JT, who are about to hit their prime. Tatum has shown that he can be the leader of the group and given how dominant the Celtics looked in the East, there is no reason to see why they might not be back in the Finals next year.
