Should Jayson Tatum be considered a top 5 Celtic if he wins the championship this year
Short answer, No. However, projecting ahead just a few years I think this should be up for conversation. The competition is stiff, but Tatum’s prime is about to vault him way up the list.
At the very least Tatum and Brown have taken the mantel as generational stars for the C’s. The 60’s had Russell, 70’s had Havlicek, 80’s Bird, 90’s had two tragedies in Len Bias and Reggie Lewis. Next came Pierce and KG. Tatum now has the the top billing. Guys before him like Sam Jones, McHale, Dave Cowens, Max, Cousy, Heinson all on the “all time Celtic” list.
Lets get this out of the way. Bird and Russell are pretty untouchable. Havlicek as the all time scorer should be on the untouchable list too, but his legacy is more forgettable due mostly to the era. Out of the remaining players Pierce and McHale will be the hardest to pass.
McHale is widely considered one of the greatest low post scorers the NBA has seen. Three time champion as a part of the original “Big 3”. McHale’s organizational ranks look like this:
Points - 5th (17,335)
Blocks - 2nd (1,690)
Blocks per game - 1st (1.7)
Rebounds - 6th (7,122) - Bill Russell is 1st with a ridiculous 21,620
Minutes Played - 7th (30,118)
Games Played - 4th (971)
Pierce will be even harder to pass. Pierce had the responsibility of dragging the Celtics out of the 90’s depression era. He came close with Antoine Walker as his running mate, but inevitably it would take the blockbuster trades to get KG and Ray Allen to Boston and finally land the illustrious 17th banner. That 2008 championship and the run Pierce had with Big Ticket cemented him as top 5 in Celtics history. Impact has a lot to do with Pierc'e’s legacy. Breaking the championship streak and bring the Celtics back to the top. Tatum has a lot of that working for him too. The Truth’s organizational ranks:
Points - 2nd (24,021
Points per game - 5th (21.8) Tatum is 4th; 22.0
Free Throws 1st (6,434)
Steals - 1st (1,583)
Triple Doubles - 7th (9) Bird is 1st with 59. Tatum is tied for 10th with 2
3 pt FGs - 1st (1,823) Tatum is 2nd with 969
Assists - 5th (4,305)
Rebounds - 7th (6,651)
Defensive Rebounds - 3rd (5,643) Tatum is 8th 2409
Larry Bird finished top 5 out of 20 statistical categories. He is the only Celtic to be awarded MVP three straight seasons.
Havlicek had 14 top 5 finishes, he sits atop 9 categories including, points, FGs, minutes played, and games played.
Tatum is in his 6th season and entering his prime. He projects to be a MVP candidate for years to come. He continues to set individual records like the latest 50 point game passing Bird in that category. He was the youngest Celtic to score 5,000 points. Tatum is the youngest player to hit 900 threes and, at the age of 24 years and 272 days, he is the first to accomplish the feat before his 25th birthday. He became the first player in NBA history to record multiple games of at least 45 points, eight made threes, and 10 rebounds.
He will quickly climb the ladder and make himself a staple on these statistical career leader boards. Statistics only go so far when you’re talking about the Boston Celtics though. The championships speak much louder. If Tatum- Brown and Co. accomplish their goal and bring home the chip this year he should seriously start getting considered in the conversation of top 5 Celtic of all time.
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