“Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are my toughest specific matchups”: Celtics forward Jayson Tatum explains why Clippers stars have consistently been his biggest tests

Jayson Tatum has a long list of superstars whom he’s embarrassed – Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and LeBron James to name a few.

Since debuting with an up-and-coming Celtics team in 2017, Tatum has gone from strength to strength. Tatum has improved his counting stats every single season while also becoming a better playmaker. The Celtics’ team chemistry dipped to dangerously low levels in 2018-19 with Kyrie, Rozier and Morris.

Before that, however, Tatum had proved his mettle in the playoffs as a rookie. He led the Cs in scoring as a 20-year-old in the playoffs while showcasing his immense talent. Many people tipped him to be a Paul Pierce/Carmelo Anthony prototype, but that’s selling Tatum a bit short.

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The 6’8″ forward is capable of getting his own buckets against practically any coverage that oppositions throw at him. This increases his worth to any team that he plays for, though Team USA wasn’t able to leverage it in 2019.

Jayson Tatum lists Kawhi Leonard and Paul George as his toughest matchups

Two of the contemporary players whom Tatum has been tipped to emulate or surpass are Kawhi Leonard and PG-13. The likes of LeBron, KD, Kawhi, Jimmy Butler and PG have defined what is probably the greatest small forward class in league history.

Tatum and Brown are a duo of elite swingmen who have displayed the ability to join these Hall of Famers’ ranks. They’ve proved it again by shepherding the Celtics in what has been a troubled adjustment 2020-21 season.

Tatum recently agreed to another AMA with NBA Reddit this morning. He answered a number of questions specific to his position within the Celtics organization and on their starting lineup. In one of these answers, he heaped praise on the Clippers stars, calling them his toughest matchups:

“I think for my own individual matchup, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Those are two guys I looked up to before I got into the league.”

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