Jayson Tatum has seen tons of success in his first seven years as a member of the Boston Celtics. He’s made the playoffs in every single campaign and has only failed to get out of the first round once.
That early-career experience is something that’s going to help him immensely down the line, according to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
James discussed the 26-year-old’s resume with JJ Redick in the first episode of their new podcast “Mind the Game.”
“There’s a great saying that says, ‘The best teacher in life is experience.’ — as well,” James told Redick. “I mean, we look at Tatum. He’s 25 years old. He’s 25 years old and I believe he’s been to the Conference Finals four times. He’s been to the NBA Finals once. He’s 25.”
Oddly enough, James’ praise of JT comes weeks after he was being taken out of MVP conversations because of his shortcomings in the 2022 NBA Finals.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst revealed that Tatum’s Finals performance against the Golden State Warriors is something that will keep him from winning the regular-season award years later.
“There’s only one MVP Jayson Tatum should be worried about this year. That’s the Finals MVP,” said Windhorst earlier this year on ESPN’s “NBA Today.” “I don’t think he’s going to be able to win the regular season MVP because he struggled in the Finals two years ago, and they disappointed in the playoffs last year, and while that’s not this season, that frames the discussion around him.”
James disputed that during the podcast when he compared Tatum’s championship timeline to some of the greats that have come before him and went on to call his resume elite.
“I didn’t win my first one until I was 28. I think Joker won his first one at 27. I think MJ was 28 as well,” he continued. “We have a lot of expectations on JT, but he’s experienced a lot of winning in his career so far… four Conference Finals and a Finals appearance before the age of 26 is elite.”
It’s pretty evident that Tatum is the real deal and has been throughout his entire career. He’s someone who has proven time and time again that he’ll be there in the spring when the lights are bright.
Some of Tatum’s greatest games have come with Boston’s backs against the wall in the playoffs. He scored 46 points in Game 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals with the Cs down 3-2.
A year later, he put together a fourth-quarter masterclass in Philly against the 76ers. After struggling all game he poured in 16 points in the final frame to help the Cs steal a road win. Then, in Game 7 he set a record with a 51-point outing at TD Garden to end the Sixers’ season.
Even without putting together monster statlines like those, JT led an injury-riddled Celtics team to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018 as a rookie.
Though he hasn’t been able to help the Cs capture Banner 18 just yet, Tatum’s postseason resume is absolutely elite.
I personally can’t wait to see what he’s got for us this year.
