Jayson Tatum: Overrated or Franchise Saviour?

“Overrated” is a term that’s past around quite harshly. Whilst Tatum saw his biggest jump in performance for the Celtics over this past season, there is still some questions surrounding his ability to lead the NBA’s most successful franchise to thier 18th league title.

This past season, Tatum averaged an impressive 26.4 points per game whilst shooting 40.3% from 3, but only managed to lead the Celtics to a bitter first round exit in this years playoffs. At 23 years of age, there are only a handful players in league history that have been expected to step up and lead a professional franchise. That being said, Tatum has certainly had his fair share of help in the form of All-Stars Kemba Walker, Gordon Hayward, and Jaylen Brown, all of which have added up to a mediocre supporting cast in Boston throughout 2021.

Jayson Tatum - skysports.com

Moving into 2022, the Celtics have had a complete franchise reshuffle, promoting former head coach Brad Stevens to Head of Basketball Operations, in an attempt to find a new avenue for the franchises continued success. Other changes include the offloading of Kemba Walker to the OKC Thunder and Gordon Hayward to the Hornets, giving Boston plenty of cap space to try and land a blockbuster trade before deadline ends in March.

At this point, it’s almost certain that Tatum is at the very centre of the Celtics future, made clear by his five-year $194 million contract extension. However, after a trying season in 2021, his ability to lead is going to be put under serious strain. Without an All-Star backup and in a tough Eastern Conference, Tatum will have to produce MVP worthy numbers in order to keep his team and his career on track.

Jaylen Brown (left) and Jayson Tatum (right) - nba.com

Unfortunatley, this is a story that seems all too farmilar. A young star gets his big pay day, ends up falling short and crashes quickly to an early (yet snug) retirement. Whilst it might be a bit premature to say the same of Tatum, the lack of direction in Boston seems like a reciepe for another first round exit in 2022, and a multi-million dollar question mark on Tatum’s back.

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