Jayson Tatum’s 5 best performances of the 2020-21 season

Jayson Tatum’s 19-point, seven-rebound performance for the Olympic gold medal on Saturday morning was one of the 23-year-old’s many great accomplishments over the past year. And so, we thought this was the best time to celebrate some of his biggest moments of late.

In the months leading up to his Olympic run, Tatum achieved some of the most impressive individual efforts in Celtics history. We’ve highlighted five of those performances from last season below, all of which have helped him solidify his status as a rising superstar.

5. April 17 v Golden State

Here is what happened…

Tatum and Steph Curry hit the prime-time spotlight on April 17, giving NBA fans one of the biggest one-on-one battles of the entire season. The pair traded buckets from start to finish, with Curry scoring 47 points to Tatum’s 44. Although Curry, the future league champion, had a slight advantage in the points department, Tatum had the advantage in just about every other category. Tatum shot 16 of 25 from the field, 5 of 9 from 3 points and 7 of 8 from the free throw line, while Curry shot a slightly less effective 15 of 27 from the field. , 11 of 19 from the depth and 6 of 8 from the charity strip. They both evenly distributed three assists, but Tatum had a 10-7 rebound lead, a 2-1 advantage on interceptions and committed just two to five turnovers for Curry. Tatum was also a plus-12 in the 119-114 win, while Curry was a minus-seven. The 44 points was the second-most points in Tatum’s career at the time, just eight days after scoring 53 points, a career-high at the time against Minnesota.

4.April 9 vs. Minnesota

Here is what happened…

Speaking of that 53-point effort against Minnesota, we ranked him No.4 on our list. On April 9, Tatum shattered his previous career record of 41 points, as he totaled the third most points by a Celtics player in franchise regular season history after Larry Bird (60 points ) and Kevin McHale (56 points). He tied his career high with 16 goals scored (16 of 25), set a new career high with 15 free throws (15 of 16) and made 6 of 10 on a 3-point range, as well. Oh, and by the way, that was a 50 point double double. He recorded 10 rebounds, all on the defensive end, to go along with four assists and one blocked shot. The Celtics needed each of his points as he brought them down from a double-digit second-half deficit to force overtime before helping them move away for a 145-136 victory.

3. May 18 vs. Washington

Here is what happened…

After breaking the 50-point mark against Minnesota, Tatum started hitting that number consistently. In fact, that’s how he started the 2020-21 playoffs – delivering a 50-man playing performance against the Washington Wizards to help Boston secure the seventh seed in the East. Tatum was not as effective on the pitch in this effort as he shot 14 of 32, including 5 of 12 on 3 points. However, he was pure perfection from the free throw line, where he knocked down a career-best 17 of 17. He also recorded eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal, and committed just one turnover for 41 minutes of action. Tatum was a plus-25 in the effort, as he led the C’s to the 118-100 victory while scoring exactly half the number of points the visiting Wizards had.

2. May 28 vs. Brooklyn

Here is what happened…

Tatum’s 50-point play-in game turned out to be just a playoff warm-up as he started it all over again in his very next game at TD Garden. After falling into a series hole 2-0 in the first round in Brooklyn, the Celtics returned home and received a much-needed boost from their top scorer, who again scored the half-century on the head. , while leading his team to a 125-119 victory. In an almost identical performance to his against Washington, Tatum shot 16 of 30 from the field, 5 of 11 from 3 points and 13 of 15 from the free throw line, while once again committing a single turnover in 41 minutes of action. He also distributed seven assists, collected six rebounds, had two steals and blocked a shot. Despite a monster combined effort from James Harden (41 points) and Kevin Durant (39 points), Tatum managed to lead his team to a huge upset victory in the best performance of their playoff career.

1. April 30 vs. San Antonio

Here is what happened…

When it comes to the best performance of Tatum’s entire career, nothing comes close to the franchise record-breaking 60-point effort he recorded against San Antonio on April 30, which sparked the most memorable victory of the Celtics’ season. Tatum became only the second player in team history to record 60 in a game, tying Larry Bird’s mark that was reached on March 12, 1985. But it was more than just 60 pieces. ; it was a complete masterpiece. Tatum shot 20 of 37 from the field, 5 of 7 to 3 points and 15 of 17 from the free throw line, while also registering eight rebounds and five assists during more than 45 minutes of rotation. free acts. But there is still more. The Celtics were strangled in the first half, trailing up to 32 points, but Tatum, who scored 31 points in the fourth quarter and in overtime, helped them overcome the second-largest halftime deficit (29 points ) in NBA history.