Having played with Paul Pierce for more than six seasons, Walter McCarthy is quite familiar with his game and how good he was during their days with the Boston Celtics. Without a doubt, The Truth is one of the best to ever play in the NBA, but the current C’s assistant coach has already seen someone who reminds him a lot of his former teammate.

McCarthy recently raved about how good their rookie Jayson Tatum is, giving him a huge endorsement by saying he has the potential to be as good as Pierce.

From Nicholas Goss of NESN:

“He really reminds me of Paul Pierce. With the footwork and how he scores, just lulling you to sleep. With Paul, he could get to his shot no matter who was guarding him. Tatum plays the same way.”

“He just has a natural ability to score. Right hand, left hand, rise up and finish, shoot over you. He has it all. The footwork is impeccable. The one-legged jump shots, the step-throughs, the in-and-outs. He really has a chance to be special. And he wants to be a great.”

These comments say a lot about how impressed he and the rest of the Celtics brass are with Tatum so far. The third overall pick in this year’s draft is coming off a very successful season with the Duke Blue Devils, averaging 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. His brilliance on both ends of the floor will be very valuable to the Celtics and will give them a lot of versatility as he can play multiple positions.

Although the 19-year-old still has a long way to go before even being close to what Pierce achieved in his professional career, he has started well with solid performances in Summer League. If he can continue it through the course of the regular season, not only will he make a name for himself as a potential rising star, but he definitely will make Pierce proud as well.