Was a summer that consisted of an Olympic gold medal and an NBA championship enough to label Jayson Tatum a superstar or does he still have more to prove?
Accomplishments
The Celtics just won their 18th NBA championship. After a 16-year drought that saw their rival Los Angeles Lakers win three titles (2009, 2010 and 2020), NBA superstar Jayson Tatum led the Celtics to their first title of the decade.
This is the headline that Jayson Tatum would like to have seen on ESPN’s website after finally winning his first NBA championship this June: “Now with a championship on his resume, Tatum solidifies himself as a truly elite player in the NBA and one of the best players in the world.”
Unfortunately, that was not the case. Instead of being credited for the Celtics successful season, the 5-time NBA All-Star was criticized by numerous national NBA media outlets. Whether it was not being the best player on the floor during the Finals or the Celtics easy path to the championship, it seems like the NBA media has it out for Jayson Tatum, almost unwilling to give him his well-deserved praise.
Whether people like to admit it or not, Jayson Tatum is an elite player. He is a superstar, he was the best player throughout an entire championship season for the Boston Celtics, he made an impact on a historic USA team that took gold in the Paris Olympics and he is a 3x NBA First-Teamer in a league filled with historic talent. Instead of receiving criticism, Jayson Tatum should be given his flowers.
Shortcomings
With that being said, Jayson Tatum has many flaws. He is not the best player in the world. He is not a big-game player, as has been shown in his two Finals appearances, the first in 2022 when they lost to Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors and the second in 2024 when the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks. Tatum has also never won an MVP, and he lost his chance of a Finals MVP to co-star Jaylen Brown this past year. Jayson Tatum has shown flashes of greatness but has at the same time been inconsistent in big games.
It’s clear that Jayson Tatum has NBA superstardom in his DNA. But it is fair to say that he has not reached his full potential and could improve his games in many ways. This cannot be said about the previous few superstars to win a championship.
Last year, three-time League MVP Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to their first championship in one of the most offensive-dominant postseason runs in NBA history. The year before, Stephen Curry won his fourth championship, elevating his status to one of the all-time greats. Giannis Antetokounmpo won in 2021 and was not only the Finals MVP but also came up with one of the most iconic blocks in NBA Finals history on the Phoenix Suns big man, Deandre Ayton. And of course, Lebron James won in 2020, and his career accolades have elevated him into the greatest of all-time conversation.
Superstar Outlook
Unlike all of these NBA legends, Tatum did not have any game-changing plays in the Finals, something that hasn’t elevated his status over the likes of the guys mentioned above.
However, unlike those stars, Tatum plays for a team where he does not have to be the main scorer. All season, the Celtics played a brand of basketball where anyone in their lineup could be the best player on that court at any given night. Although Tatum was comfortable in his role of not being a first option, it seemed like in the postseason he couldn’t step up in the moments his team really needed him to.
While it may seem at first somewhat unconventional for the NBA media to ask more from him, it’s not an entirely unjust narrative. When he’s locked in, Tatum plays some of the most beautiful basketball in the league and has one of the cleanest jump shots. NBA fans just want this level of play on a more consistent level when his team needs him the most. Tatum is only 26 years old and has plenty of time to elevate his game to the next level. The potential for greatness is still there, and the criticism he faces can serve as a catalyst for further development. Tatum has the skills, the drive, and the support to become one of the most dominant forces in the NBA; we’ll just have to wait and see if that comes to fruition.
