Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey took a swing into the future and came away with just one Celtic on his list of the NBA’s 30 best players in 2030: Jayson Tatum.
Bailey slotted Tatum at No. 17, a spot that suggests the Celtics star should still be operating at a high level four years from now. Tatum will be 33 in 2030, and Bailey pointed to the way his game should age as the reason he can stay in the mix.
“Tatum is huge for a wing,” Bailey writes. “He can easily shift to power forward if a slight decline in athleticism requires it.
And whether he's there or at the 3, his rebounding, shooting and playmaking will be important. Plus, though he's not quite on (Jalen) Brunson's level in terms of craftiness, there is a lot of that to Tatum's game too.
Good burst is important to be able to sell things, but Tatum's footwork and pump fakes should help him remain effective well into his 30s. Think of it this way.
The post-Achilles tear Tatum still has a chance to be something like a souped-up version of Paul Pierce.”
For Boston, the placement fits the reality of a roster that doesn’t have a deep stash of young talent waiting in the wings. The team’s best players are already in their prime, which makes Tatum the obvious name to carry into any long-range projection.
Bailey’s full top end of the list also paints a pretty clear picture of where the league could be headed. He has Victor Wembanyama as the unquestioned best player in the world in 2030, and he also puts AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer - the top-three picks in this year’s draft - ahead of Tatum.
Still, the Celtics would absolutely sign up for a version of Tatum that looks like a high-end contributor four years from now. For now, though, they’re focused on winning much sooner than 2030.
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