Jayson Tatum has made the leap that everyone always talks about with young players this season.
Not only is he an All-Star, but he’s definitely at least a fringe pick for an All-NBA team this season. He could make an All-Defensive team, too, if he keeps playing this way.
He’s very obviously improved his game a ton over the course of the season. But what if I told you the biggest improvement he made for his game may have had absolutely nothing to do with basketball?
Okay, just hear me out. It sounds absolutely ridiculous, but look. Jayson Tatum has been on another level the past few weeks — and there has been a noticeable difference in his production since his beard became fully connected.
He was walking around with the pork chop sideburns for a while and it wasn’t a great look. Here it is against the Grizzlies on January 22. He looked like he just hopped straight out of a Shaft sequel and onto the court.
By the time the Celtics played the Heat on January 28th, that beard was flourishing. Absolutely flourishing.
But he didn’t play that night because of “injury” — OR, and hear me out, he was just supercharging that beard.
He returned on January 30th with a full beard, and ready to get buckets. Since that game, he’s averaged 29.7 points per game while shooting 51.3% from the field and 48.5% from deep.
Yup. This actually seems like a thing. The beard game is strong with this one.
The hardest thing in the world is staying strong through a stretch of patchy beard as it first begins to grow in, but Tatum stuck through and look at him now. Don’t ever let your patches define you, folks.
I’ll tell you what. James Harden better watch out. There might be a new beard in town soon.
