Career and Life

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Jayson Christopher Tatum is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Tatum attended hometown Chaminade College Preparatory School, where he was rated a five-star recruit and regarded as one of the top players in the Class of 2016 by recruiting services. After one season with Duke, he entered the 2017 NBA draft, and was selected with the third overall pick by the Boston Celtics. He won the 2019 Skills Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend.

 

At the conclusion of his freshman season Tatum opted to go directly into the 2017 NBA Draft as a one-and-done, where he was projected as a first-round selection.

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In a controversial move, Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge dealt away the team's #1 pick in the 2017 NBA draft to the Philadelphia 76ers in hopes that he could acquire another valuable draft pick and still target the player he actually wanted, Tatum. Not ranked as high as other prospects underrated on draft boards, Tatum was still on the board as the Celtics drafted him #3 overall on June 22, 2017, with the pick they received from Philadelphia. Tatum was the team's second straight #3 pick for a small forward, following Jaylen Brown in 2016. During the 2017 NBA Summer League event in Utah, he displayed his abilities to effect, averaging 18.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 2.0 assists in nearly 33 minutes of action. Later, in Las Vegas, Tatum produced similar results, averaging 17.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.8 blocks in nearly 32 minutes of action in the three games he was allowed to play. As a result, he was named to the All-Summer League Second Team alongside Bryn Forbes, Cheick Diallo, Wayne Selden Jr., and Kyle Kuzma.

 

In his NBA debut, Tatum recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds as the team's starting power forward in a 102–99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tatum then recorded a season-high 24 points in a win over the New York Knicks on October 24, 2017. He was named the Eastern Conference's Rookie of The Month for December 2017.

 

Tatum played in the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship and 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, making the Eurobasket.com All-World Championship U19 Second Team.

 

Representing Team USA at the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit, Tatum saw 16:57 of action, scoring 14 points, pulling down 4 rebounds and also had 2 assists, two steals and one block.

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