While much of the buzz around the giant leap forward Jayson Tatum took in the 2019-20 NBA season has focused on the growth of his offensive game (and rightly so), his defense has improved remarkable as well.
Perhaps no better example can be found than Tatum shutting down Los Angeles Clipper star forward Kawhi Leonard in Boston’s February 141-133 double-overtime win over that team.
The Duke product limited the NBA champion to 1-of-7 shooting while forcing three turnovers during the final two minutes of regulation and the extra periods.
But, there is a season-full of similarly hard-nosed, intelligent defensive plays to consider that helped keep the Celtics a top defense in the league despite several key departures on that end of the court over the summer.
“I can’t believe it’s not talked about more, how good he is defensively,” said his head coach Brad Stevens (courtesy of NBC Sports Boston).
“I think, for whatever reason, that gets lost in the shuffle. How much effort he’s been playing with all year has been like — he’s really become a great defender. His length. He chases balls, he challenges shots. He gets his hands on balls or keeps them in their mind that he’s behind them with that length.”
“And then he’s a great rebounder from the wing,” he added.
So, watch the video above and see for yourself what Stevens is raving about. Jayson Tatum has undoubtedly made the leap to superstar status, and it isn’t just what he’s doing on one end of the floor that’s behind it.
