We all remember May 12th, 2025 when Jayson Tatum fell to the floor in Game 4 of Round 2 against the New York Knicks. To that point, it had been one of the been one of the best games Tatum had played in his career with 42 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
The 2024-25 version of Jayson Tatum is the best Tatum we have seen in his career. He had become the best scorer, passer and rebounder on the Celtics and was playing as well as any player in the league.
That is the Jayson Tatum the Celtics
are betting on getting this year, the Jayson Tatum they need this year.
Tatum’s return from his Achilles tear was an overwhelming success. Sure, the end was disappointing with the blown 3-1 and him sitting out Game 7 but for Tatum to look as good as he did coming off of that major an injury under a year after it happened shows that Jayson Tatum is ready to reach the levels he once did.
Tatum’s play improved as the season went along and his numbers were vastly better in the playoffs than the regular season. His points, rebounds, assists and shooting percentages were all up in the first round series against the 76ers than they were in the 16 regular season games he played.
He got stronger as his return to the court went along and he really started to find himself before a knee issue held him out of Game 7.
I do think him missing Game 7 is notable, he was recovering from a major injury which likely lead to the new injury. That is something that should be addressed but I am not worried about it entering this year.
The subtraction of Jaylen Brown means that Tatum is the guy in Boston. There no more Jays and no more duo, this is the Jayson Tatum and friends show. His ‘friends’ are very good but that doesn’t matter if Tatum doesn’t preform to his highest capabilities.
His tools are very important to this team.
Tatum’s rebounding has reached a level where it isn’t underrated anymore. Everyone knows that Jayson Tatum is awesome on the glass. He was awesome on the glass in his return averaging 10.0 rebounds per game in the 16 regular season games he played and 10.7 in the six playoff games. The Celtics should be really good on the defensive glass this year and Tatum is going to be a big part of that.
His passing has gotten astronomically better since he entered the league and his playmaking is going to be a huge part of this team. The Celtics don’t have a ton of lead ball handlers on this team and Tatum is a big reason for that. He is going to have the ball in his hands more than any other player on the team and it will likely be by a wide margin. They’ll need his passing to be top notch. This team has a lot of good shooters, it will be up to Tatum to get them the ball a lot of the time.
Tatum’s pick and roll partnerships with Neemias Queta and Mitchell Robinson are also going to be really fun this year. His leap in passing has also lead to a leap in his pick and roll partnerships as he and Luke Kornet were one of the most efficient pick and roll pairings during the 2024-25 season. His ability to play out of that should be something the Celtics really take advantage of this year. I have really enjoyed watching him come off a screen leading to an opening between the screener and the big, which Tatum quickly spits and gets to the cup with ease.
— #LetsGoCeltics (@gobosceltics) September 8, 2026
The Celtics defense is supposed to be among the best in the league this year because they have a lot of really good defensive players. At his peak, Jayson Tatum is as good defensively as any of them. Both on the ball and off of it. His ability to guard one through five was the leading reason as to why Boston’s defense was so good in during their 2024 championship season. His switching ability is a big part as to why I think Boston’s defense can be so dominant.
Last but not least is how important Tatum’s scoring ability is. The three point shot has been long scrutinized but he really did start to find it as last season ended, shooting 36.5% in the playoffs from beyond the arc. His pull-up has always been one of his biggest weapons and that shot was a big part of his arsenal last season.
— #LetsGoCeltics (@gobosceltics) September 9, 2026
His 2 point scoring is where he has really thrived over the last few years as well as he has gotten stronger. Jayson Tatum’s ability to put the ball in the basket will never be questioned by me because he has always been special at that.
The Celtics have a chance to be really good this year. That starts and ends with Jayson Tatum. If he can find somewhere between 90 and 100% of his peak form, the Celtics are going to be a legit threat in the Eastern Conference this season and I have every confidence he will do just that.
