His fantastic playoff performance as a rookie put his name next to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as the only other rookie in playoff history to score 20 or more points in 1- games of their first playoff appearances. The second round against the Philadelphia 76ers was even better for Tatum, as he tallied a career-high 28 points in Game 1. In Game 4, he added 21 points and then topped that with 22 points in Game 6. In his Playoff debut in his rookie season, Tatum added another double-double with a 19 point and 10 rebound performance versus the Milwaukee Bucks. Shortly after that, Tatum added 24 points versus the New York Knicks on October 24. In his Boston Celtics debut, Tatum tallied a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. It seems like Ainge’s plans worked out once again, as the Boston Celtics drafted Jayson Tatum No. Ainge decided to move the team’s #1 overall pick in a trade, hoping to add another pick while still getting the player he desired. He then entered the 2017 NBA Draft.Ĭome time for the 2017 NBA Draft, the savvy Danny Ainge was once again making questionable moves. Tatum’s one season at Duke helped him be named to the ACC All-Freshman team and Third-Team All-ACC. However, Duke did suffer an early exit at the hands of South Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, wasting their second seed. Tatum had a superb ACC Tournament, as he averaged 22 points and 7.5 rebounds on his way to adding another ACC Tournament Championship for the Blue Devils. Jayson poured in 28 points in a big victory over the defensive savvy Virginia Cavaliers, while also adding eight rebounds.

His season-high game came on February 15. His first big game came just three days later where he poured in 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a win over Florida. In his Duke debut versus Maine, Tatum tallied 10 points in a blowout win. Tatum’s Duke career did not start off the way he wanted, as he ended up missing the first eight games of the 2016-17 season with a foot injury. Instead, he decided to pair up with fellow top-three recruit, Harry Giles, and attend Duke University. His parents were both hoping he would attend Saint Louis University, both of their alma maters. Tatum’s ultimate decision came down to Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, or Saint Louis. The rising star came out of high school ranked as a 5-Star recruit and third overall in the recruit in the class.

Jayson Tatum’s early years had scouts across the country drooling.

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