Jayson Tatum Biography, Real Name, Age, Birthday, Height, Weight and More

Jayson Christopher Tatum Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association. A McDonald’s All-American in high school in Missouri, he played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils.

Early Life

Jayson Tatum was born on March 3, 1998 in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Chaminade College Prep School where he would go on to have a stellar high school career. During his senior year, he averaged 29.6 points to go along with 9.1 rebounds on his way to the state championship and the 2016 Gatorade National Player of the Year Award. He played his college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils where he would enjoy a successful season. After the conclusion of the season, he would declare for the 2017 NBA Draft.

NBA Career

The Boston Celtics selected Jayson Tatum with the third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He was directly inserted into the starting lineup and contributed from the get go. During the 2018 NBA Playoffs he put in some important performances, helping the Celtics to the eastern conference finals where they would lose out narrowly to the Cavs in seven games. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

The next season was not a breakout year for Tatum as many had predicted. He would go on to improve his box score averages. The Celtics crashed out of the second round of the playoffs, losing 4-1 to the Giannis led, Milwaukee Bucks.

Kyrie Irving did not resign with the Celtics and left them in free agency. This led to Tatum taking on a higher responsibility in which he flourished. He was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game and led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals, losing 4-2 to the Miami Heat.

During the 2020-2021 season, Tatum improved further. His scoring went up to 26.4 from 23.4 points a game, finishing as the 11th highest scorer. His team around him, barring Jaylen Brown who had a breakout year, got worse. Due to this, the Celtics were bundled out in the first round to the hands of the Brooklyn Nets.

With the USA Men’s Basketball Team, He won a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Professional Career in Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics is a professional basketball team that competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division.

Boston Celtics drafted Jayson Tatum #3 overall on June 22, 2017, even though he was not superiorly ranked like other candidates picked by Philadelphia.

In fact, the general manager of the Boston Celtics, Danny Ainge, is the team’s #1 pick in the 2017 NBA draft to the Philadelphia 76ers. He targeted Jayson Tatum instead.

When Tatum was NBA’s newbie

Jayson Tatum gained a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds as the team’s starting power forward in his NBA debut. However, his team had to undergo a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Nonetheless, Tatum proved to the crowd how capable he is in his rookie season. He scored 18.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 2.0 assists in an average within 33 minutes of action at the 2017 NBA Summer League event in Utah.

Similarly, he gained 17.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.8 blocks in an average within 32 minutes of action at Las Vegas in the three games that he participated in.

Thereupon, Jayson Tatum was recommended to All-summer League Second Team.

Jayson Tatum attained a season-high 24 points on October 24, 2017. It was a win over the New York Knights. Henceforth, he was honored with Eastern Conference’s Rookie of The Month for the December 2017 title.

The Boston Celtics ended the season with 55-27, paving their path towards the 2018 NBA Playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

Tatum grabbed a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Game 1 of the first-round series against the seventh seed, Milwaukee Bucks.

Further, he subsequently broke his playoff-high record twice. Firstly, in Game 4 with 21 points, and then in Game 6 with 22 points.

Moreover, the Boston Celtics succeeded in defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 with a 112-96 win. Tatum scored 20 points in the match.

Records made by Tatum in his rookie year

Jayson Tatum scored a career-high 28 points in a 117–101 victory against the third-seed Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of the second-round series.

This record established him as the first Boston Celtics rookie to score 25 or more points in a playoff game since Larry Bird during the 1980 NBA Playoffs. Both Tatum and Bird scored a point against the 76ers.

Further, he scored 21 points in a Game 2 victory against the Boston Celtics.

Consequently, Tatum stood up as the youngest player ever to attain at least 20 points in four straight playoff games at the age of 20 years and 68 days, even earlier than his idol, Kobe Bryant.

 Kobe Bryant scored the same number during the 1999 NBA Playoffs when he was 20 years and 272 days old.

Moreover, he contributed to giving a Game 3 overtime win for Philadelphia to his team by scoring 24 points.

Then Tatum stood up as the first Celtics rookie to score 20 points in five straight playoff games. Larry Bird held the previous record of 20 points in five straight playoff games.

Besides, he joined Kareem Abdul and Jabbar on the squad of rookies in playoff history to record 10 games of 20 or more points scored during their first playoff runs.

Jayson Tatum was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team on May 22, 2018.

Tatum on the 2018-19 season

Tatum secured 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists in a 105–87 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019-19 season opener of the Boston Celtics.

Similarly, he grabbed 24 points and 14 rebounds in a 103–101 win over the New York Knicks on October 20. Likewise, he scored 24 points and 6 rebounds in a 101–95 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 25.

Tatum also defeated the Toronto Raptors, recording 21 points and 7 rebounds in a 123–116 overtime win on November 16.

He further succeeded with a 121-114-win, scoring 23 points and 10 rebounds against the Philadelphia 76ers on December 25.

Similarly, Jayson Tatum attained 25 points and 7 rebounds in a 103–96 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Also, he defeated the Sacramento Kings on March 6 in a 120-126-win, scoring 24 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Tatum on the 2019-20 season

Jayson Tatum scored his career-high score of then, 39 points and 12 rebounds in a 119-93 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on December 22, 2019.

He then broke his record with a career-high score of 41 points in a 140-105 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on January 20, 2019.

Moreover, Tatum was named his career-first NBA All-Star on January 30. He was then selected as an Eastern Conference reserve.

Further, Tatum scored 39 points in 47 minutes on February 13. It was a 141-133 double-overtime victory of the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Clippers.

He again scored his career-high 41 points on February 22. However, the Boston Celtics faced a 114-112 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jayson Tatum – National Team Career

Tatum played for the National Basketball men’s team as well. He was a participant in the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship and the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.

He contributed to Eurobasket.com’s victory as the All-World Championship U19 Second Team.

Similarly, he represented Team USA in the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit. He scored 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists,p 2 steals, and a block in the timeframe of 16 minutes 57 seconds of action at the summit.

Jayson Tatum – Career Stats