Five-time All-Star, finalist in 2022, fourth in the 2023 MVP vote, Jayson Tatum has clearly established himself among the best players in the league in recent years. He who will only be 26 years old on March 8th therefore still has many good years ahead of him. However, he is aware that he is at an important moment in his career.
“I realized it, even more now, simply because with just a blink of my eyes I can remember my first match,” he comments. “I'm in my seventh year, I still feel very young, and I can imagine that all this will end. I need to make the most of this window. »
He didn't come far from the Holy Grail in 2022, but the Warriors were stronger, and he failed in Game 7 of the conference finals last spring. “I understand that no matter what I do in the regular season, I'm at a point where I'm being judged on the title. I know it. I have to do it. »
More patience
This is how he will become the face of the league, as LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, all aging, have been for more than a decade. “I feel like this is my moment. I feel that if I win the title it will be even clearer. I am part of this list. »
By recruiting Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics pulled out all the stops to best surround the winger. And with such reinforcements, Jayson Tatum continues his transformation to become more collective and mature.
Because, as a good Kobe Bryant fan that he is, and greedy because he is very talented, he sometimes has the fault that the “Black Mamba” had, that is to say taking difficult shots rather than making a pass. .
“Even though we are very good, we still do double takes on me. For me it's about attracting two defenders and finding Jrue Holiday or Derrick White, and free players. If we do that four or five times in a row, defenses are forced to change strategy,” he explains. “It’s a question of trust: it will come back to me. I'll have my shots and my points. I have to trust this process. It's hard when you're young. We want everything to happen right away, but it doesn't work like that. »
Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis at the start, Jayson Tatum at the end
Especially since Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis know how to hit quickly (14 points on average between them in the first quarter), he can then rotate and be a simple, but valuable, threat.
“Since he has been in the team, Brown has always had the habit of being aggressive at the start while I am more behind. I look first »notes Jayson Tatum. “I know he and Porzingis are often hot in the first quarter. I can serve as a decoy. Letting them do it also opens doors for me. I know I can act when necessary and I didn't think like that at the start of my career. »
This reading of the game is an evolution for the Olympic champion. “At first, I played for the sake of playing, instead of thinking. Now I know who I'm facing, I know my opponents' defensive patterns, what they're going to do, who's playing or not. I learned from that. I know I'm pretty good at taking a step back and putting things off. »
Before you strike when it counts. “Then, in the last quarter, I know I can score 20 points”he concludes, he who is the best scorer for his team in the last act, with an average of 6.7 points.
| Jayson Tatum | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2017-18 | BOS | 80 | 31 | 47.5 | 43.4 | 82.6 | 0.6 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 13.9 |
| 2018-19 | BOS | 79 | 31 | 45.0 | 37.3 | 85.5 | 0.9 | 5.2 | 6.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 15.7 |
| 2019-20 | BOS | 66 | 34 | 45.0 | 40.3 | 81.2 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 23.4 |
| 2020-21 | BOS | 64 | 36 | 45.9 | 38.6 | 86.8 | 0.8 | 6.6 | 7.4 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 26.4 |
| 2021-22 | BOS | 76 | 36 | 45.3 | 35.3 | 85.3 | 1.1 | 6.9 | 8.0 | 4.4 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 26.9 |
| 2022-23 | BOS | 74 | 37 | 46.6 | 35.0 | 85.4 | 1.1 | 7.7 | 8.8 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 30.1 |
| 2023-24 | BOS | 52 | 36 | 47.5 | 36.3 | 82.4 | 0.9 | 7.7 | 8.6 | 4.8 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 27.1 |
| Total | 491 | 34 | 46.0 | 37.4 | 84.4 | 0.9 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 3.5 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 23.0 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
