Not a Celtics fan but Tatum’s always been one of my more favorite players in the league, I think he’s the first player I’ve seen that came back from an achilles tear better than he was before. Everything is the same, the athleticism has barely gotten worse if it all, but now his passing is just fucking crazy. He’s obviously always been a good passer but idk how many passers in the league are better rn

Cade, Harden, Scottie, Jalen Johnson (maybe), Bron, Giddey, Egor, Hali, Trae, Jokic, Jamal, Luka, LaMelo, Garland, Keyonte, and maybe Keaton Wagler can be better. These are the only players in the league I think pass better than him. Idk how his passing just got so much better after his return maybe it’s just being injured you can only sit in a room and watch film all day, but I’ve never seen Tatum play as good as he has since he came back.

I know y’all lost JB, but just know Tatum is still here and the best he’s ever been.

Orikshekor

21 | 10 days ago

Thanks bootyloverandeater, this does feel like a jinx of some sort tho

bootyloverandeater [OP]

2 | 10 days ago

I just hope he stays healthy personally. I’ve always said him before last year along with Harden, Bron, and Russ a while back are the only players you can rely on to play a lot of games every year in the regular season and be an MVP level player.

JohnUtahFBI

1 | 10 days ago

That username! 🤣🤣🤣

iiGoodVibesii

1 | 10 days ago

Lmmfaaaaoooooooooooʻooo.

BootyloverandEater, said it!!!

Turbulent_Car4504

12 | 10 days ago

Hot and stupid take. Tatum averaged fewer points and assists and shot worse upon return from his injury than 24-25. This also holds up on a per 36 minutes basis. He blocked fewer shots, shot more 3s and less FTs, none of which make him better. He’s also the same or worse in any defensive metric I looked at.

I’m not trying to shit on Tatum, he did a great job quickly getting back, but this post is absolute garbage.

Justalittlejewish

3 | 10 days ago

He averaged fewer points and assists because JB was averaging a higher usage than he ever had before and Tatum was clearly re-integrating himself and not 100%.

I think he absolutely looked like he’d leveled up as a passer even if the volume didn’t reflect it, and I think it’ll reflect in his numbers this year

Turbulent_Car4504

3 | 10 days ago

Exactly, he wasn’t 100 percent, and he didn’t perform better than pre-injury.

I don’t agree he leveled up as a passer. Just a slightly different environment.

Outrageous_Cup6081

1 | 10 days ago

Looked better but I’m not sure if it’s cos I’m just reacting to Scal and Drew’s calls/reddits reactions.

Made some sharper reads or at least saw passes he didn’t used to. Controlled the game better.

Would be interesting to see next season with a bigger sample size.

Turbulent_Car4504

1 | 10 days ago

Agreed that only next season will determine how he has really recovered. Perhaps the time off did do him some good in terms of processing and controlling the game.

Tatum-Better | ☘️ Jayson " Since Larry Bird " Tatum ☘️

4 | 10 days ago

His playoff numbers were very promising though

Turbulent_Car4504

3 | 10 days ago

Agreed but the sample size is too small and doesn’t show an improvement, somewhat similar drops in stats but he did average slightly more assists in the playoffs post injury but White disappearing may have caused that.

I think hes doing amazing but let’s keep the expectations and assessment realistic is all.

GoatmontWaters

-1 | 10 days ago

LEts factor in he was dealing with an entirely new type of JB. That is a huge factor on these stats.

Justalittlejewish

6 | 10 days ago

Totally agree with you, his passing looked better than ever. He’s not a jokic “blow you away with his creativity” passer, but his ability to consistently make the correct read and pass out of doubles is extremely valuable and, combined with everything else he does on both ends, makes him one of the most complete basketball players in the league

Ghillie_Spotto

4 | 10 days ago

He looked better than I expected but definitely not better than pre-injury. The explosiveness was definitely less.

I’m optimistic he’ll be close to normal by the fall.

MWave123

5 | 10 days ago

When?

Jlombard911

5 | 10 days ago

He had an elite game seven against the Sixers.

MWave123

0 | 10 days ago

Yessir!

mayorlazor

5 | 10 days ago

I saw someone say in the middle of last season that time on the bench observing the game as a 3rd party might unlock a more abstract level of understanding of the game and what his team needs. I.E. passing the ball and getting other more involved. Seems like that person may have been right.

claire_luna_25

1 | 10 days ago

he’s literally the best player in the nba. freakin super man

Temporary_Pepper6126

1 | 10 days ago

How many ppg is he gonna have this season without Brown? I think he can reach the 28-29 ppg man, if not, boston could be in trouble this year, east looking scary

rdesai724

2 | 10 days ago

He’s literally 3 years removed from averaging 30 with brown so. Can probably push 30 at least if he’s looking right and the 3 is falling

Temporary_Pepper6126

2 | 10 days ago

Open looks is gonna be a problem. D White gotta buckle up with Brown gone. Cant be shooting like last season. PG i dont have hopes honestly.

Justalittlejewish

0 | 10 days ago

If I was a gambling man I’d put money on White having a bounce back season. With Tatum back less of the primary playmaking burden will be on him, and everyone gets more open and easy looks when Tatum is running the offense.

d_____r

1 | 10 days ago

Tatum for MVP

Imallama

1 | 10 days ago

Let’s completely ignore that he averaged fewer points and assists when he came back…

RetroDave

1 | 10 days ago

Dominique Wilkins.

MundaneExtension3195

1 | 9 days ago

Tatum himself said he was 80-90% not better than 100%… and if you watched the playoffs, you saw his lack of explosion as measured in his blocks and dunks. Last year in 8 games he had 14 blocks + dunks in the playoffs, in 2026 he had FOUR (4) blocks plus dunks in his six games, including ZERO blocked shots in the playoffs

hopefully he can get back to his pre injury level, tho

wow072

1 | 9 days ago

I mean if he’s able to get his athleticism back then yeah I would say he’s a better player pre Achilles, but he was probably gonna become this level of a passer without the injury seeing as he improved every year. That’s why I think the year after they won the chip is the best Tatum has ever looked, especially in that Orlando series.

Hot take: Tatum is the first player to return from an achilles injury BETTER than before.