At Duke, Boston Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum was a 34% three-point shooter.
Following Monday night’s game in Chicago, Tatum was leading the NBA in three-point shooting percentage at 50% on more than three attempts per game.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens attributed his sizable leap to his even-keel mentality, which is evident when you watch him play. Tatum never seems rushed and appears equally comfortable taking his man off the dribble to the hoop or finding a well-timed rhythm shot within the flow of the offense. Of his 46 three-pointers on the year, 96% of them have come off assists.
“He shoots it really easy,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said on Monday. “You can see that. In the college game, it just looks like one of those guys that can flick the rest and has some depth to his shot. When we had him in for a workout, he shot the lights out. It didn’t matter if he missed the last one, he had the mentality of a shooter. He had the mentality of a scorer. … He’s got a good emotional way about him. I think that that helps when you talk about not riding the wave of emotions from shooting.”
Tatum, 19, was the reason the Celtics felt comfortable trading down from the No. 1 pick. Already a dangerous shooter, he’s started every game for the East-leading Celtics and has fit seamlessly alongside veterans Kyrie Irving and Al Horford. He’ll be even more disruptive in the post once he develops strength on his wiry frame. His emergence next to second-year wing Jaylen Brown, who’s more than doubled his scoring to 14.6 points per game and is shooting almost 40% from three, is why Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr dubbed the Celtics the “team of the future” in the East.
Tatum has as bright a future as any rookie in this year’s class. When asked specifically about potential player comparisons, Horford was hesitant but acknowledged his excitement.
“I honestly, I really can’t think of anybody,” Horford told USA TODAY Sports. “I think he’s still so young, he’s just starting to develop. There’s a lot of strengths to his game. I honestly can’t think of anyone.
“I want to see where he’s at in two years.”
1. Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers: 18.0 ppg, 7.7 apg, 9.1 rpg
To paint a picture of what Simmons’ game looks like, he’s second in the NBA at 19.3 drives per game, just ahead of Russell Westbrook, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan and John Wall. Simmons, who doesn’t yet trust his outside shot, has taken 73% of his shots inside of nine feet.
2. Tatum, Boston Celtics: 13.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.3 apg
Surprisingly, it’s not Irving who is feeding Tatum on all of his assisted shots. Horford has assisted him 24 times so far this season while Marcus Smart has served him 23 dimes. Irving is third with 13.
3. Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz: 17.3 ppg, 3.2 apg, 3.0 rpg
The Jazz rookie might be generating the most hype outside of Simmons. Mitchell’s 41 points weren’t a fluke. He followed that up with games of 21, 31 and 26. Most encouraging, though, is that his shooting percentages have increased every month as his confidence has grown.
4. Kyle Kuzma, Los Angeles Lakers: 16.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.5 apg
At this point, no rookie has more in his arsenal of offensive tricks than Kuzma. He leads fast breaks, knocks down three-pointers, slashes to the rim and has no trouble posting defenders up. He’s got three double-doubles in his last four games and eight on the year, which is second-most among rookies.
5. Lauri Markkanen, Chicago Bulls: 14.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.3 apg
The Bulls leading scorer missed Monday night’s game with back spasms, which also sidelined him for three games in the preseason. Markkanen has played over 30 minutes per game, the second-most on the team.
