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To become a Boston Celtics legend, there are two players one must emulate: Bill Russell and Larry Bird. While that's much easier said than done, Celtics star Jayson Tatum is trying his best to follow in their footsteps, and his most recent All-NBA honor proves it.
On Friday night, the eighth-year Celtic was officially named to his fourth straight All-NBA First Team. Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and a career-high six assists per game in the regular season en route to the prestigious selection. And although his postseason tragically ended early with a season-ending Achilles rupture in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, he still averaged 28.1 points per outing in the playoffs — his most since 2021.
Jayson Tatum tonight before his injury:
– 42 points (playoff-high)
– 57% FG (series-high)
– 8 rebounds
– 4 assists
– 4 steals (playoff-high)
– 2 blocks (playoff-high)Just a monster effort with a heartbreaking end. pic.twitter.com/rdQiWeIh4O
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) May 13, 2025
Tatum now boasts more All-NBA First Team nods than the legendary Russell. Plus, his four selections tie a few other Celtics greats, including John Havlicek, Bill Sharman, and Kevin Garnett. Bird and 13-time All-Star Bob Cousy are the only players in franchise history with more First Team appearances.
Speaking of ‘Cooz,' Tatum just tied him, along with Russell, for the most All-NBA selections of any Celtic before turning 28. Since Tatum made the All-NBA Third Team during the shortened 2020 campaign, he has five total All-NBA nods. The only Celtic to have more at Tatum's age was, of course, Bird.
Cousy, Havlicek, Russell, Bird, and Sharman are the only Celtics with more All-NBA appearances than Tatum. Given that all of the Cs ahead of him either won league MVP or NBA Finals MVP at some point in their careers, Tatum is in elite company.
Unfortunately, his All-NBA First Team streak is at risk for reasons beyond his control. The 2024 NBA champion is currently recovering from surgery and needs to rehab his Achilles for several months, at least, before returning to action. Whether or not he even plays during the 2025-26 season remains to be seen.
Like many of the accomplished Celtics before him, Tatum loves to play and is undoubtedly dying to get back out there. In fact, he underwent surgery less than 24 hours after his brutal injury in the hope of speeding up the recovery process. This was obviously approved by doctors and team staffers alike, as de facto Celtics general manager Brad Stevens said there was a lot of benefit in an early operation.
Brad Stevens said Jayson Tatum and the Celtics were on the phone with doctors before even leaving MSG. Said surgery was done by the time the injury report was out.
Also mentioned how not playing was obviously difficult for JT:
“Even missing 2 games was grueling for him.” pic.twitter.com/gY9xAbX9R3
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) May 19, 2025
Joining a fifth consecutive All-NBA First Team is virtually impossible for Tatum, and rebounding from an Achilles injury will be a massive challenge. However, Boston's franchise cornerstone has the same competitive drive that fueled guys like Russell and Bird, meaning another All-NBA season in the future isn't out of the question.
But to truly approach the greatness of his predecessors, Tatum knows he needs rings, not personal glory. It's part of what makes him a true Celtic.
He won't be satisfied until he's back on the parquet, and when that happens, he won't be satisfied until he's doing everything he can to raise another banner.
