Jayson Tatum is back in ESPN’s top 10, but the number next to his name tells the story: No. 9.
ESPN finished its NBA Rank on Thursday by unveiling the top 10 players for the upcoming season, and the Celtics star landed behind eight names that all came in ahead of him: Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards and Cade Cunningham.
Tatum wasn’t part of ESPN’s rankings last season, when the expectation was that he would miss most of the year because of an Achilles injury.
The network also attached one big question to each player in its top 10, and the one surrounding Tatum goes straight to the heart of Boston’s future: whether his ceiling is still as high after the injury.
“Tatum was good in his limited playing time last season,” wrote ESPN’s Zach Kram. “But he was far more than merely good before his Achilles tear.
“For four consecutive seasons prior to the injury, Tatum was a first-team All-NBA selection, which is the level that most championship teams need from their No. 1 options. If Tatum can’t return to that level, the Celtics likely won’t have enough top-tier star power to return to the Finals. But if Tatum returns to MVP contender status, Boston will be right back in the title mix.”
Tatum played 16 games last season and averaged 21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists. His shooting numbers also dipped, as he hit 41.1 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from 3-point range.
He appeared in six of Boston’s seven games against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs and sat out Game 7 because of knee stiffness.
With Jaylen Brown gone from the Celtics, the pressure on Tatum to get back to his pre-injury level only grows from here.
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