There is no doubt that Jayson Tatum is among the finest players in the NBA. However, as an individual talent, the Boston Celtics superstar has yet to gain the same level of notoriety as some of his peers, who are also their franchise’s cornerstones. The forward hasn’t featured much in MVP debates in his seven years in the league. He has also been labeled ‘lucky’ for landing on the Celtics, who have done an excellent job surrounding him with exceptional players. However, former WNBA star Chiney Ogwumike believes Tatum deserves more respect.
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The two-time WNBA All-Star recently argued that the Celtics forward deserves a spot on the list of the top 5 best players in the league, especially after Boston’s dominance in the 2024 postseason. Ogwumike claimed that Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the three best players in the league.
She put Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fourth on her list. Ogwumike explained that he deserved the spot for his efficiency and consistency this year. However, things got tricky when it was time to select the fifth player.
To round off her top five, the former Sparks star picked Tatum ahead of former MVP and two-time scoring champion, Joel Embiid. Explaining her choice, Ogwumike said,
“[Jayson Tatum’s] consistency needs to be respected. In the postseason, he averaged 25 [points], nine [rebounds], and six [assists]. In the regular season, 27 [points], and eight [rebounds]. And some people don’t understand he was asked to do more with less because of the talent that surrounded him.”
However, Ogwumike had a caveat in her argument. “The only thing that can take Tatum out of the top-five…to me is the Joel Embiid factor. He averaged 34, but played only 39 games.”
.@chiney says Jayson Tatum is a top five NBA player when Joel Embiid isn’t healthy ✍️
“Jayson Tatum had to be Mr. Consistency, which he was in the regular season. And then, trying to fulfill the expectations of the world trying to be ‘that guy’ in the postseason.” pic.twitter.com/aO68gvQN1W
— First Take (@FirstTake) July 2, 2024
The former WNBA star claimed that Embiid’s fragility was a massive factor in her decision to pick Tatum ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers superstar for her top-five list. She added that when the 2023 MVP is healthy, he is more impactful than the Celtics forward.
Embiid was following up his MVP-winning 2022-23 season with another exceptional campaign. He was touted to follow Jokic and Antetokounmpo’s footsteps in successfully defending his MVP title for a second time in a row. However, injuries limited him to only 39 regular-season games.
On the other hand, Tatum is miles ahead of the 76ers superstar as far as durability is concerned. He has played fewer than 74 games in a full 82-game season only once in his seven-year career. On the flip side, Embiid has never reached the 70-game mark in a campaign since getting drafted in 2014.
Availability is often the best ability. On that front, the Celtics forward has the center beaten by quite some margin.
