Jayson Tatum lifted his profile after elevating the Boston Celtics to their 18th championship. While his multiple MVP-level seasons just lacked a title, his zeal to win has drawn comparisons to some of the legends in the game. Rachel Nichols believes that Tatum’s title acquisition has put him on par with legends like LeBron James or Kobe Bryant. She argued that he has built a solid case to be named among the greatest players after making it to the All-NBA First Team consistently.
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Nichols acknowledged that he would not have won an NBA ring without Jaylen Brown but having a bona fide superstar alongside can’t be a reason to downplay his stature.
While admitting that the 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown is not necessarily a ‘Robin’ to Tatum’s ‘Batman’, she noted how even past superstars have had such help. For instance, Kevin Garnett had significant contributions from Paul Pierce to land his first NBA title in 2008.
The case was even more palpable when Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were running mates during their three rings. So, one can’t undermine Tatum’s accomplishments just because he had help. On UNDISPUTED, Nichols expressed,
“Also the idea that someone has to be the only guy to win a championship, it just doesn’t hold up to history. The last Celtics team that won it, Paul Pierce would be sitting here and saying that both were equals, they were both Batman on that team. We can talk about Shaq and Kobe, we can talk about all kinds of teams that had two guys.”
Nichols pointed out that while Jaylen Brown won the 2024 Finals MVP, JT led the team in points, assists, and rebounds in the playoffs. She also highlighted that only Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Larry Bird, and Hakeem Olajuwon have accomplished this feat, meaning Tatum is already featured in exclusive lists. Nichols stated,
“So he is in very rare company, in terms of what we say, can you lead a team to playoffs, can you win a championship? And he has done all of those things. In his seven-year career, six All-Star appearances, three All-NBA first teams. He has dropped 51 and 46 in playoff games, an NBA title, five Conference Finals appearances.”
.@Rachel__Nichols breaks down how Jayson Tatum’s growth puts him on track with LeBron, KD and Kobe: pic.twitter.com/qNPjrcKoH2
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) July 9, 2024
Additionally, she alluded to his scoring accomplishments at the age of 26. She listed Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony as the only players, who scored as much as Tatum at his age. With around a decade or so left in his career, Tatum isn’t done yet, rather he’s just begun.
Rachel Nichols is spot-on about the 26-year-old already making a case as one of the all-time greats. Not many elite athletes have led their team to multiple deep playoff runs like him. However, keeping him on par with the greats like the King or Black Mamba might still seem like a far-fetched idea. Surely, when all is said and done, Tatum might feature on the same list.
