Jayson Tatum Is NOT A Top 10 Player In The NBA
Updated: Jun 24
After the Dallas Mavericks game one loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, Dallas coach Jason Kidd said that Jaylen Brown, and not Jayson Tatum, was the best player on the Celtics. "Well, Jaylen's their best player," he said at a press gathering. "Just looking at what he does defensively, he picked up Luka full court, got to the free throw line, he did everything."
The term "best" is an opinionated term, and everyone has a right to their opinion. Tatum is a solid player, but he does not provide much defense, and his shot selection is awful at times. This is what is keeping him from being a top-10 player in the league, with the following players clearly ahead of him.
Jayson Tatum has never won the league Most Valuable Player award, and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has won it three times. He has led the league in PER (player efficiency rating) the last four seasons, and his career PER of 28.1 is the highest in NBA history (Michael Jordan is second all-time at 27.91).
Jokic is a jack of all trades, averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9.0 assists in 2023-24. There is not much that Tatum can do better than him, and they certainly are not in the same category when it comes to current NBA greatness.
2. Luka Doncic, Guard, Dallas Mavericks
When the dust finally settles after the final buzzer sounds in the 2023-24 NBA Finals, it is quite possible that Jayson Tatum will be an NBA champion. He will also be lower on a top-10 list than the guy he just beat, Luka Doncic. The 25-year-old Slovenian is arguably the brightest star in the league.
Doncic just won the league scoring title, averaging 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game. He is a more efficient scorer than Tatum, shooting 47% from the field versus Tatum's 46%. He was a league MVP as a teenager on a European pro team, and his all-around skill set overshadows Tatum in every way.
3. Joel Embiid, Center, Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid is the most skilled big man the league has ever seen. From ball handling to shooting to posting up, he excels at every aspect of the game. His biggest weakness is his health. He's never played more than 68 games in a season, but when he's on the floor, he is head and shoulders (literally and figuratively) over Jayson Tatum.
Embiid averaged 34.7 points per game this past season but did not win the scoring title because he only played in 39 games. He also averaged 11 rebounds and 5.6 assists while shooting 53% from the field. His .388 three-point percentage is better than Tatum's, and the Celtics forward is allegedly a shooter.
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Forward, Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is basically Jayson Tatum plus 40 pounds of muscle. He is long and athletic and can get to the basket from the three-point line in one stride. He is a two-time league MVP and a better player than Tatum.
This past season, Giannis averaged 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game. He shot 61.1% from the field and posted a PER of 29.9. He is unstoppable with the ball in his hands, and unlike Tatum, plays defense at an elite level (5-time NBA All-Defense).
5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Forward, Oklahoma City Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is another player built like, and who plays like Tatum. He's 6'11 and plays four positions for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He is a more efficient scorer, shooting 53.5% from the field last season and 49.6% for his career. He also plays defense, averaging two steals and a block per game.
In 2023-24, SGA averaged 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists. He was the runner-up for the league MVP behind Jokic and helped lead the Thunder to 57 wins. If the Celtics could swap Tatum for SGA, they'd do it in a heartbeat.
6. LeBron James, Forward, Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is old now, and it's easy to dislike him, but he is still one of the top 10 players in the NBA. He is an all-around great player who fills every column of the stat sheet night in and night out. His court vision remains top-shelf, and he continues to make all of his teammates better.
He averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists last season for the Lakers, shooting 54% from the field and 41% from behind the arc. He defends all five positions on the floor and makes an impact on defense with blocked shots and steals.
7. Steph Curry, Guard, Golden State Warriors
Gilbert Arenas may not think that Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry is a generational talent, but he is dead wrong. Curry changed the way the entire league plays basketball. He displays some of the best ball-handling skills since Allen Iverson and shoots off the dribble better than anyone in history.
Last season, Curry averaged 26.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. He shot 45.0% from the field and 40.8% from the three-point line. He still has range for days, and unlike Jayson Tatum, opposing teams actually have to gameplan to play against Steph.
8. Jalen Brunson, Guard, New York Knicks
Maybe it's recency bias, but this is a list of the top 10 players in the NBA right now, not over the duration of their careers. Brunson is a more durable player than Tatum, averaging more minutes per game, and he's more efficient. He shot 47.9% from the field this season and 40.1% from three.
2023-24 saw Brunson average 28.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game. In the Playoffs, he became just the fourth player in NBA history to score 40 points in four consecutive games (Tatum is not one of the four). Before his team was ousted, Brunson averaged nearly eight points per game more than Tatum for the postseason.
9. Kevin Durant, Forward, Phoenix Suns
It would be completely fair to call Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant by the moniker "Jayson Tatum 1.0" or, more appropriately, call Tatum "Kevin Durant 2.0" since the Slim Reaper came along first. Both are long-wing players, but it's Durant's shot selection, thereby efficiency, that puts him ahead of Tatum.
KD averaged 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 2023-24. He shot 52.3% from the field and 41.3% from deep. He is also better from the foul line than Tatum. His efficiency rating of 27.7 just edged out Tatum (27.6) last season.
10. Jaylen Brown, Forward, Boston Celtics
Jaylen Brown may not be a top-10 player in the NBA, but he is better than his teammate, which is why he makes the list. Ever since the two were paired together, a faction of Celtics fans has been unwavering in their belief that Brown is the better player, primarily because he plays great defense.
Brown averaged 23 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists this season. He shot 50% from the field and 35.4% from three. All playoffs long, when Tatum has completely disappeared, Brown kept the Celtics in games. It's Brown who can be trusted in crunch time to make the big shot. Tatum can't be a top-10 player in the league because he's not even his team's top player.
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