Jayson Tatum was asked about his top-three players in the NBA during an Instagram Live conversation with basketball skills coach Pep Stanciel.
The Celtics forward's response was interesting at the least, putting LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard next to Kevin Durant, who has yet to play since Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals:
“LeBron, he is the best player, bro,” said Tatum. “He's the best player until he's no longer the best player. He got it. KD number two. Kawhi number three.”
Tatum seemed to have this well thought out before responding. Not only has he been a lifelong fan of King James, but he has also faced James several times during his short career.
Most importantly, he saw James singlehandedly take down his Celtics in the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, coming back from the dead and putting on a show in Game 7.
His Cleveland Cavaliers would go on to get swept by the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, but James had been carrying his team through the whole postseason, this time without Kyrie Irving at his side.
Perhaps what is more eye-catching is how Durant is still up high in players' minds, despite coming off a torn Achilles. DeMarcus Cousins went from being a top-10 player to being well outside the top 50 after suffering his Achilles tear. Not many are expecting Durant to suffer that same fate, despite being ruled out for the 2019-20 season.
Leonard has proved to be an elite talent after spearheading the Toronto Raptors to a title in 2019, garnering enough respect from Tatum to crack his top-three list of active players.
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