When Jayson Tatum was at Duke, we fell into the trap a lot of people fall into when considering a basketball player’s future: is he athletic enough for the NBA?
We never thought he wouldn’t be successful; we just didn’t think he would become as good as he has.
Clearly, Boston had a better understanding of his future because after a mild sophomore slump, Tatum has become a true star and is still improving - and rapidly.
You might think that he feels he’s arrived but wisely, he understands that now there are new challenges: “I think the better you get, the more respect that people give you, it brings more challenges.”
That attitude - shared by teammate Kemba Walker, among others - is going to keep the Celtics in the hunt for NBA championships for as long as Tatum is in town. He’s a tremendous piece to build around.