In just three years in the league, Boston Celtics swingman Jayson Tatum has already broken the ankles of Paul George and dunked all over LeBron James.
Speaking with Rachel Nichols of ESPN, the 22-year-old walked fans through two of the best highlights of his young career thus far.
On breaking George's ankles, Tatum recalled that head coach Brad Stevens set up a play for him. At that point, the Celtics were down by three with less than 20 seconds remaining in the fourth.
It was one of the most impressive highlights of the 2019-20 season. Not only did Tatum tie the game to eventually send it to overtime, but he also broke the ankles of George — one of the league's top defenders. But for Tatum, he doesn't really count it as a broken ankle.
“I think I stepped on his foot a little bit. I ain't going to say that I broke his ankles because I kinda stepped on his foot,” the one-time Celtics All-Star shared on his epic play against Paul George.
On the other hand, when Tatum was a rookie, he entered the mainstream consciousness when he helped lead the Celtics deep into the playoffs. He practically sealed his place as an up-and-coming young gun when they matched up with LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals.
Particularly in Game 7, Tatum smashed one all over James — his childhood idol.
![[NBA awards] Nikola Jokic next to Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, Jalen Brunson, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.clutchpoints.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F04%2F2024-NBA-awards-Official-picks-for-MVP-All-NBA-more-150x150.jpg&w=320&q=75)
“I remember I saw him coming and I was like ‘it's Game 7 I can't lay it up.' I was just trying to get fouled, attack the rim strong. It happened like that and I dunked it. I remember bumped him and I yelled. I'm a pretty laid back guy, like I don't really yell or talk when I'm playing. But my emotions just took over me,” Jayson Tatum furthered.
Jayson Tatum joins #TheJump & says he "hasn't touched a basketball" since Boston's last game. We also discussed last year's MVP (he thinks Harden should have won), food he's helping get to families in Boston & St. Louis, and if he's on board with the new nickname "The Problem" pic.twitter.com/Pe0OxboyY2
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 13, 2020
Most analysts share the opinion that Tatum will be one of the faces of the NBA. He has the talent, work ethic, and tenacity to make it big. He also has two highlights over two top-tier players.
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