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Nearly a decade into his NBA career, Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum cracked Bleacher Report’s Top 100 NBA players of all time. While Tatum is in the early stages of recovering from a ruptured Achilles, forcing him to miss the majority of the 2025-26 campaign, he’s still managed to crack B/R’s list. The six-time All-Star and a 2024 champion still has a long career ahead of him. Still, he joins a long list of Celtics legends that came before him.
Making B/R’s top 100 all-time list is an impressive feat. Tatum, 26, is ranked No. 93, per B/R.
“Jayson Tatum’s inclusion may be seen as a rush to coronation. He isn’t even halfway through his career. Then again, that’s kind of the point. He has been a positive-impact player on both sides of the ball since entering the league, mostly for a title contender, and already was the best player on a championship team. That is all before turning 28. Speaking of which: Tatum just nabbed his fifth All-NBA selection.
“Here’s every active player to do the same through their age-27 season: LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Luka Dončić, Nikola Jokić, Russell Westbrook, and Chris Paul. We wouldn’t think twice about including any of those names. Maybe we shouldn’t overthink whether Tatum’s appearance jumps the shark, either.”
With eight seasons under his belt, Tatum is already a six-time All-Star and a five-time All-NBA honoree. He made his first NBA Finals appearance in 2022, losing 4-2 against the Golden State Warriors before securing his first title, 4-1, against the Dallas Mavericks in 2024.
Tatum’s posted career averages of 23.6 points on 45.9% shooting, including 37.0% from deep, 7.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He also surpassed Celtics great Bill Sharman, a four-time champion alongside Bob Cousy at No. 94, and the Mavericks’ Klay Thompson, another four-time champion from his time with the Warriors. Thompson is ranked No. 98.
Which Celtics legends cracked B/R’s Top 10 list?
Amid Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum reportedly recruiting Damian Lillard to Boston, perhaps Bleacher Report’s Top 100 list is a reminder of how far Tatum has come thus far in his career. He’s established himself as one of the NBA’s elite players. At the same time, he can look way up to a handful of Celtics legends who came before him, highlighted in B/R’s Top 10.
Hall of Fame center Bill Russell, one of the most dominating defenders in league history, rounded out the top five, and Larry Bird, another Celtics all-time great, sits at No. 8.
