During a recent episode on their joint The Ticket and the Truth podcast, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce talked about who they thought was the best American player in the NBA currently. Pierce had tweeted on November 14 that he thought Jayson Tatum was the best American in the league right now. Asked to explain his take during the show, Pierce detailed the 25-year-old’s progress in the league in recent years.
Advertisement
The Boston Celtics legend also talked about his 55-point All-Star game, as well as his 51-point performance in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season. That, alongside Tatum’s four straight All-Star selections, was enough for Pierce to put him past the likes of Kevin Durant and LeBron James for now.
“Right now the best American in the league is Jayson Tatum and this is not you know, right now. I mean you look at his growth, you see what he has done over the past couple of years,” Pierce said.
“He has been first-team All-NBA, hit you with the 55 in the All-Star, hit you with another 50 Game 7 versus Philly and I am just looking around, I think he is past KD, I think he’s passed LeBron. I mean today, you know what I am saying?” he added to drive home his point.
With Garnett in approval as well, Pierce claimed that the only argument against Tatum that people could provide was Stephen Curry. The 35-year-old Warriors legend is the only American player who is on the same level as Jayson Tatum. “I think the only argument you really got maybe is, maybe Steph, as far as the American players today. But outside of that, I think he is past the other guys, so when I say that, I really believe he is the best American player,” Pierce said.
Tatum is the best American Basketball Player in the World 😎
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) November 14, 2023
The Celtics legend might be somewhat affected by bias considering he has been seen training Tatum in the summer. Besides Pierce certainly has love for his former team, the Boston Celtics.
During the show, Pierce went on to talk about how he knew Nikola Jokic was the best player in the league currently, something that the Serbian has proved consistently in recent seasons. However, Jayson Tatum is the best USA player, as far as Paul Pierce and KG are concerned. The latter even went on to claim that he expects Tatum to win the MVP award this season as well.
Jayson Tatum is one of the biggest faces of the NBA
The Boston Celtics have put complete faith in their young All-Star duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum with successful results. They have consistently been the top dogs in the Eastern Conference and only lost in the Finals against the Warriors in the 2021-22 season.
Tatum, since joining the league, has been on a permanent upward trajectory and has also featured on the All-NBA First Team for two consecutive seasons. Having led his team to the Finals once, Tatum is obviously hoping to go all the way with the Celtics in the near future, which is bound to strengthen his credentials as one of the top stars in the league.
Tatum is a young player who has in recent seasons taken his game to the next level, something which is expected from a host of other stars in the league as well. This includes youngsters such as Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, and even Ja Morant, despite the recent controversies. Some might argue that the young American star currently closest to Jayson Tatum is Trae Young, who has also threatened to become a face of the NBA and might as well do so in the coming years.
