Jayson Tatum Vs. Joel Embiid

Image Credit: Chris Szagola/AP Photo

The Atlantic Division is filled with a lot of individual talent, however, the two players that stand out the most are Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid. Joel Embiid is coming off of a season in which he just won MVP, yet Tatum ended up outplaying Embiid come playoff time leading to an early exit for the 76ers. So the question becomes who is the better individual player?

Joel Embiid was drafted in 2014 and throughout his entire career he has still never made it past the second round. Tatum has seen the conference finals numerous times and has even made a trip to the NBA finals. Embiid has gone up against Tatum in three different series’ across their careers and Tatum has won all three. Tatum also has a winning record against Embiid in the regular season as well. While these are important feats, they are only team based accomplishments. As individuals Embiid has averaged more points, rebounds and even assists than Tatum has throughout his career. Embiid has also done it much more efficiently as Embiid for his career averaged 55% from the field compared to Tatum’s 47%. 

Going into next season there is pressure on both players to bring home championships to their respective squads. The 76ers have fallen flat on a deep playoff run for years, and if Embiid continues to disappoint come playoff time, the narrative may come out that Embiid can simply not contribute to winning at a high level come playoff time. Tatum and the Celtics have had similar issues and the narrative for Boston could change to the idea that Tatum and Jaylen Brown can not play well together. Tatum has shown more consistently throughout his career that he can perform well under pressure at least compared to Embiid which is why by the end of next season Tatum will have a better year and will be viewed as the better player.