Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is expected to join Team USA’s training camp in August in the pursuit of a roster spot in September’s FIBA World Cup. The World Cup, which will take place in China, also doubles as a qualifying tournament for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Among the players joining Tatum is training camp will be Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal; Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma; Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard; Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez; Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love; New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis; Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker; Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell; Rockets guard James Harden; and Blazers guard C.J. McCollum. This will be a milestone event in Tatum’s career and is quite the honor, given that all but two other players listed by Wojnarowski — Kuzma and Gordon — have earned All-Star selections.
Considered one of the best young scorers in the league, capable of scoring from all three levels and creating shots for himself at will, Tatum has averaged 14.8 points per game in his short career in a tertiary role. He averaged a career-high 15.7 points per game last season and 15.2 points in the postseason but his most memorable stretch of play came in the 2018 NBA Playoffs, as he averaged a team-high 18.5 points per game and fell just two points short of breaking Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for the most points scored by a rookie in the playoffs.
The babyfaced assassin is efficient too, shooting 46.1 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from three and 84.0 percent from the free-throw line over the course of his career. There’s little doubt that Tatum can become a perennial All-Star, especially if his usage rate rises and as his experience level grows.
A great showing from Tatum in the FIBA World Cup would do well for his star-power on an international level and as a player who may become the face of the Celtics, that would only benefit Boston.
