Jayson Tatum didn’t just inherit a bigger load this season. He’s turned it into a showcase.
With Jaylen Brown shipped out over the summer in the deal for Paul George, the Celtics’ offense suddenly belonged to Tatum in a way it never quite had before. Brown had been more than a co-star.
He was the other wing defenses had to account for, the guy who could steady the scoring when Tatum went cold, and the more vocal presence in the room when Boston needed someone to set the tone. Without him, the questions were obvious: would Tatum’s game bend under the pressure, or would the Celtics feel the loss of Brown’s voice and shot-making more than expected?
Six games into a 5-1 start, those concerns look way off base.
Tatum has been the undisputed centerpiece of Boston’s offense, and he’s opened his 10th NBA season with a stat line that screams control. He’s averaging 28.3 points per game even while shooting just 24.4% from three, a rough start from deep for a player who has typically hit 36.7% of his threes for his career.
But the scoring hasn’t come from simply piling on more attempts. Tatum is taking 20.8 shots per game, only a slight bump from the 20.3 he put up in his last fully healthy season.
The real shift has come in how he’s getting his points. With Brown gone and Paul George bringing a different kind of shooting profile, Tatum has been attacking the rim more often and finding cleaner lanes.
He’s averaging 7.3 made two-pointers per game, which is already a career high over his previous best of 6.6. That aggression has also sent him to the line at a pace Boston hasn’t seen before.
His 10.2 free throw attempts per game are tied with Luka Dončić for the highest mark in the league.
The passing jump may be the clearest sign of all that Tatum is thriving in this version of the Celtics. He’s averaging 7.7 assists per game, a career-high usage rate fueling the playmaking surge.
Tatum has always been a scorer first, but this season he’s doing more than finding the open man-he’s creating openings himself and making the offense bend around him. That adjustment has helped Boston’s attack rank fifth in net rating and eighth in points per game.
And it isn’t just the offense. Tatum has been active on the other end, too, even with the heavier workload.
Boston’s defense has been strong overall, ranking fourth in turnovers forced per game and sixth in net rating, and Tatum has been part of that start. Joe Mazzulla pointed to one sequence after Sunday’s win over the Magic, saying, “To me, where our team’s psychology really was strengthened was in the first half,” Mazzulla said after Sunday’s win over the Magic.
“He had a pick-and-roll defense in front of Orlando’s bench that he executed our defensive system to a ’T.’ To me, that’s more important than anything else because it sets the tone, and when he’s willing to do it, it makes it a standard.”
Then there’s the late-game work, where Tatum has been just as sharp. In 15.4 clutch minutes, he’s tied for first in points and shooting 61.4%. He already has one game-winner, and he also caught fire late to close out Boston’s first win over the Knicks at TD Garden in the second game of the season.
That’s the part that can’t be faked. Crunch time is about shot-making, nerve, and the willingness to take the last swing when everyone in the building knows the ball is coming your way.
Tatum has always had that in him. The difference now is that he’s doing it without Brown beside him.
For now, the answer is clear: Tatum hasn’t just handled the new responsibility. He’s embraced it, and the Celtics are reaping the benefits.
In Other News...
Jayson Tatums Regret Adds To Celtics Questions About Loyalty
The Celtics relationship with Jaylen Brown has been under a microscope ever since the trade chatter started swirling around him, and a new layer has only made the old questions louder. According to NBA writer Chris Mannix, Jayson Tatum later looked back on that period and regretted not being more publicly supportive of Brown while the rumors were building, a detail that adds some texture to a partnership that has long been judged as much by body language as by box scores.
Browns move to the 76ers changed the conversation around Bostons core, especially after a stretch in which the Celtics were also tied to other big-name speculation. Tatums silence, or apparent lack of awareness, during the rumor mill now sits awkwardly beside the public comments both players have made since, leaving the impression that the bond between Bostons two stars was not as straightforward as it once seemed. [Read more 🡒]
Jayson Tatum Is Showing A Celtics Shift Fans Will Notice
Jayson Tatums early-season scoring has come with a different kind of pressure on opposing defenses, and it has shown up at the line. In the opening stretch of the 2026-27 season, he became the first Celtics player since Paul Pierce in 2008 to attempt at least 54 free throws over a four-game span, a sign that Bostons offense is leaning into the kind of downhill aggression that can change how games are played late.
That trend was on display again against Orlando, where Tatum poured in 32 points, handed out seven assists and kept the Celtics rolling with a strong night at the stripe in Bostons fifth straight win. Pierce also weighed in recently on the teams competitiveness and the Eastern Conference race, adding another layer to a start that has the Celtics looking like a group that can win in more than one way. [Read more 🡒]
Joe Mazzulla Loved What Jayson Tatum Did In Celtics Win
Jayson Tatum kept the Celtics steady in their 108-97 win over the Magic, putting together a night that mixed scoring, playmaking and control. He finished with 32 points, four rebounds and seven assists, and even with an 8-of-19 shooting line from the field, he kept finding ways to put pressure on Orlando and give Boston the kind of half-court presence it needed.
Afterward, Joe Mazzulla singled out Tatums poise and aggressiveness, clearly pleased with the way his star attacked the game. The free-throw line was a big part of that edge, and it fit with the broader theme of Tatum dictating the action rather than waiting for it to come to him. For a Celtics team looking for that kind of assertive rhythm, it was the sort of performance that stood out beyond the box score. [Read more 🡒]