Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has truly made a serious impression on Kevin Durant, so much so that the Brooklyn Nets star even compared him to Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Tim Duncan.
On his podcast “The Etcs. with/Kevin Durant,” the Nets star opened up about his most recent battle with the Celtics youngster and shared how he believes Tatum has put himself in conversation among the elites. KD has had several battles with the likes of Kobe, LeBron and Duncan, so he certainly knows what it takes to be a big-time player in the league.
“I’ve been in the league for 13, 14 years and I started to like tally mark the matchups, the series, the players that I’ve played against,” Durant said, via Mass Live. “… I’ve had series against Kobe, LeBron, Tim Duncan, the Memphis Grizzlies—Jayson Tatum is in that conversation. He’s that elite level player already at 23 and I’m like, alright, I can see where this is going. It was an honor to play against him.”
This is certainly a huge praise for Jayson Tatum coming from Kevin Durant. After all, he was not only compared to legendary players and champions, but he was mentioned in the same breath with arguably three of the Top 10 players of all time.
Now that is something that should boost the confidence of the Celtics star.
Of course, Durant's praise is not without merit. While the Celtics failed to beat the Nets in the first round of the 2021 playoffs, Tatum still proved why he is the future of Boston. In the absence of his All-Star running mate in Jaylen Brown, the 23-year-old star took over for Boston and gave them some hope against the star-studded Brooklyn side.
In the series against the Nets, Tatum averaged 30.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.6 blocks. Noteworthy among that stat line was his 50-point explosion in Game 3 that gave Boston their lone win of the showdown.
Tatum is yet to win his first title with the Celtics, but with the way he has grown in his four years in the league so far, that might not be too long from now
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