“It was an honor to play against Jayson Tatum”: Kevin Durant sings Celtics superstar’s praise by comparing him to LeBron James and Kobe Bryant

Kevin Durant calls Jayson Tatum elite and claims that it was an honor to matchup against him while comparing him to LeBron and Kobe. 

These 2021 NBA Playoffs have shown to the world that the league will be in great hands once players such as LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant choose to leave the NBA hardwood for good. Guys under 25 such as Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Ja Morant, Luka Doncic, and Donovan Mitchell have stepped up to the plate in a big way, proving that they’re ready to be handed the torch. 

Jayson Tatum in particular has been on the end of a bevy of compliments in these past 24 hours as LeBron James took to his postgame interview following their Game 6 loss to commend Tatum on his play. “Can’t forget about Jayson Tatum,” said LeBron when listing out all the great young players in the league.

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Rightfully so as Jayson Tatum has been progressively upping his game and his averages as seasons go by. Though he did have a lackluster year in 2018-19, the factors that played into that season far outweighed what any individual player could overcome. Ever since then, he’s increased his scoring average from 15.7 to 23.4, which in turn led to a near 27 point per game season this year. 

Kevin Durant gives Jayson Tatum his flowers. 

In the most recent installment of the ETCs podcast hosted by Kevin Durant, the 2x champ went over all of the players and teams he battled it out against. The teams he listed out were of course ones that challenged him on the court and pushed him to play like an all-time great. 

“When I have conversations with my friends, I’m like ‘Yo, I had a series against Kobe, LeBron, Tim Duncan, the Memphis Grizzlies.’ Jayson Tatum is now in that conversation. It was an honor to play against him.”

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Jayson Tatum has been to the Playoffs in all 4 years of his early career; an impressive feat for any young player to accomplish. Stats-wise, this series against the Nets was his best one yet as he averaged 30.4 points in those 5 games. 

With the Boston Celtics roster and front office starting to enter a state of flux going into their offseason, it’ll be interesting to see if the Celts give Tatum the help he deserves to take another leap in his Playoff success, as the Suns did for Devin Booker.