All Eyez on Tatum: Why Jayson Tatum Must Become an MVP
With the NBA season finally underway on Tuesday, many questions surround the Boston Celtics, who are the odds-on favorites to win the 2023-24 NBA Championship (Caesar Sportsbook), one of them being “Can Jayson Tatum take THE LEAP into superstardom and become the MVP of this league?”
Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant - NBAE
For many, Jayson Tatum has been on the cusp of greatness for several seasons now, having increased his scoring, rebounding, and assist output every season he has been in the league. His percentages from the field overall have been relatively steady, hovering around 45-47%, yet his three-point percentage has dipped with an increase in volume, going from sub 40% to 35% the past two seasons. Had it not been for an ankle injury to start game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, he might have been a two-time ECF MVP and a potential NBA champion. That, unfortunately for he and Boston fans alike, was not the case, as they lost to Miami 103-84 and returned home empty-handed.
The Celtics returned to the drawing board searching for ways to retool and improve, aiming to collect their first championship since 2008. So what did President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens do? He extends Jaylen Brown to the largest contract in NBA history on a five-year, $304 million-dollar super-max deal. He traded the longest tenured member of the Celtic core in Marcus Smart for a one-time all-star in Kristaps Porzingis, who is coming off the healthiest year of his career since his sophomore campaign, averaging 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game on 50/39/85 slash marks. Then, to one-up the Milwaukee Bucks, who traded Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard, Stevens traded Malcolm Brogdon for Holiday, creating a core four of players who can compete for a title for the next several years.
Even with all of these moves made, none of it will matter if Jayson Tatum cannot become an MVP candidate this season and maintain it. Jayson Tatum has had seasons where he starts off blazing hot and his momentum cools down throughout the course of the season and seasons where he starts off considerably cool then heats up as the year progresses. He’s going to need to play at an MVP level for 82 games and carry it into the postseason through 16 wins if Boston wants to win a title. Cut back on the pull-up threes off the dribble, attack more in space in the midrange and mid-post areas, increase his assists while maintaining a low turnover rate, and continue getting to the basket and the free-throw line at a high clip.
It is a tall task to ask a 25 year-old who now has three other all-star caliber players at his disposal to do more, yet this is how the great players etch their names among the all-timers. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic have both secured not one, but two MVPs and an NBA title for their teams as young faces in the league. Now, it is Jayson Tatum’s time to do the same and become the next great Boston Celtic. Secure the MVP, and then secure the title.