1. Jayson Tatum was a McDonald's All-American in high school in Missouri and played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils.
68 Facts About Jayson Tatum
1. 2.
Jayson Tatum won the inaugural NBA Eastern Conference finals MVP in 2022, and won his first title in the 2024 NBA Finals.
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Jayson Tatum won a gold medal with the 2020 and 2024 US Olympic teams.
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Jayson Tatum holds the records for most points scored in an NBA All-Star Game, most points scored in a Game 7 of any NBA playoffs series, and most points scored in the NBA playoffs at his age.
5.
Jayson Tatum attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in Creve Coeur, Missouri.
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Jayson Tatum was inspired by Bradley Beal, a senior at Chaminade, while Tatum was in his first year there as a seventh grader.
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Jayson Tatum struggled with the school's college preparatory curriculum, and his classmates were substantially more privileged than he was.
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Jayson Tatum played alongside Tyler Cook and was in gym class with classmate Matthew Tkachuk.
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Jayson Tatum wanted to play under his father, the head basketball coach at nearby Christian Brothers College High School, but his mother preferred Chaminade so Jayson Tatum would still work hard on academics.
10.
Jayson Tatum was named the 2016 Gatorade National Player of the Year.
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Jayson Tatum was rated a five-star recruit and was ranked as the No 3 overall recruit behind Harry Giles and Josh Jackson and No 2 small forward in the 2016 high school class.
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Jayson Tatum was named to the All-ACC Tournament team after averaging 22.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game for the Blue Devils.
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Jayson Tatum averaged 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in the tournament.
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Jayson Tatum was named to the ACC All-Freshman team and a third-team All-ACC selection.
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Jayson Tatum was the Celtics' second consecutive No 3 pick for a small forward, following Jaylen Brown in 2016, whom Jayson Tatum formed a duo with.
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Later, in Las Vegas, Jayson Tatum produced similar results, averaging 17.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.8 blocks in nearly 32 minutes of action in three games.
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Jayson Tatum was named to the All-Summer League Second Team alongside Bryn Forbes, Cheick Diallo, Wayne Selden Jr.
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Jayson Tatum was named the Eastern Conference's Rookie of the Month for December 2017.
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On May 22,2018, Jayson Tatum was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team.
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Jayson Tatum was named to the All-NBA Third Team and his first selection of his career.
21.
On February 23, Jayson Tatum was named an Eastern Conference reserve for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, marking his second All-Star game in a row.
22.
Jayson Tatum was one of three players to score 60+ points without a single turnover and was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 42.7 points per game, 6.0 assists per game, and 6.0 rebounds per game.
23.
In terms of franchise records, Jayson Tatum became just the sixth player in Celtics history to score 50+ points in a playoff game; he became the only player in NBA history to score 50+ points more than once in the regular season, 50+ points in a play-in game, and 50+ points in the playoffs.
24.
Jayson Tatum led the league in plus-minus for the first time in his fifth season, cementing his status as one of the most valuable players in the NBA.
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Jayson Tatum was named the inaugural Eastern Conference Finals MVP after averaging 25.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game in the series.
26.
Jayson Tatum set the all-time NBA record with 100 turnovers in a single postseason.
27.
Jayson Tatum became the youngest player in NBA history to make 900 three-pointers, doing so at 24 years old and surpassing the previous record set by Bradley Beal at 25 years old.
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Jayson Tatum became the first NBA player to record multiple games of at least 45 points, 10 rebounds, and eight three-pointers.
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Jayson Tatum became the sixth NBA player to have multiple games with 45 points or more with 10 or more rebounds while committing at most one turnover, joining Anthony Davis, Michael Jordan, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony.
30.
Jayson Tatum surpassed Larry Bird for the most 50-point regular season games in Celtics history.
31.
Jayson Tatum became the first Celtic to record 30+ points, 15+ rebounds, and 5+ assists in a game since Paul Pierce did so in 2002.
32.
Jayson Tatum became the tenth player in NBA history to reach 9,000 career points before the age of 25.
33.
On January 26, Jayson Tatum was named an Eastern Conference starter for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game, marking his fourth overall selection and first as a starter.
34.
Jayson Tatum became the first player in NBA history to score at least 50 points in the regular season, the playoffs, and the All-Star Game.
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Jayson Tatum surpassed Paul Pierce for the second-most 40-point games in Celtics history with 22.
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Jayson Tatum finished the season with a 30.1 points per game average, becoming the only player in Celtics history to average at least 30 points per game in a season.
37.
Jayson Tatum's 2,225 total points scored throughout the season was a league-best mark.
38.
Jayson Tatum became the first player in Celtics history to put up multiple 50-point playoff games.
39.
Jayson Tatum became the first player to score 50+ points without any turnovers, the first to log 50+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 5+ assists in a series-clinching victory, and the first to have scored 50+ points in a regular season game, the NBA All-Star game, and a playoff game, all in the same year.
40.
Jayson Tatum surpassed Paul Pierce for the most playoff three-pointers made in Celtics history.
41.
Four days later in Game 6, Jayson Tatum posted 31 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists.
42.
On January 25,2024, Jayson Tatum was named an Eastern Conference starter for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, marking his fifth consecutive selection and his second selection in a row as a starter.
43.
Jayson Tatum joined Larry Bird as the only players in Celtics franchise history to put up at least 25 40-point games.
44.
Jayson Tatum became the sixth player in NBA history after Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic to lead their team in points, rebounds, and assists while reaching the NBA Finals.
45.
Jayson Tatum became the sixth player to lead his team in points, rebounds and assists during a championship run.
46.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics in all three categories during the NBA Finals.
47.
On July 1,2024, Jayson Tatum signed a five-year contract extension worth up to $314 million, surpassing his superstar teammate Jaylen Brown's $304 million extension as the richest deal in NBA history.
48.
Jayson Tatum became just the fifth player in NBA history to record 40+ points, 15+ rebounds, 10+ assists and 5+ 3s in a game, joining James Harden, DeMarcus Cousins, Russell Westbrook and Vince Carter.
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Jayson Tatum is the first player in Celtics history to record 40+ points, 15+ boards and 10+ dimes in a game.
50.
Jayson Tatum joined Larry Bird as the only Celtics with 40-point triple-doubles.
51.
On January 25,2025, Jayson Tatum was named an Eastern Conference starter for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, marking his sixth consecutive selection and his third selection in a row as a starter.
52.
Jayson Tatum had 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the opening 24 minutes, the first player ever to reach those totals in a half during the play-by-play era.
53.
Jayson Tatum played in the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship and 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, making the Eurobasket.
54.
Jayson Tatum was named to the 2020 Olympic team, which did not play in Tokyo until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Jayson Tatum was the second highest scorer on the team to Kevin Durant.
56.
Jayson Tatum is the son of Justin Jayson Tatum and Brandy Cole-Barnes.
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Jayson Tatum's father is a former professional basketball player and the current head coach of the Illawarra Hawks in the Australian NBL.
58.
Jayson Tatum's mother was an 18-year-old freshman in college on a volleyball scholarship when Tatum was born.
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Jayson Tatum earned degrees in communications and political science and graduated from law school.
60.
Jayson Tatum is the godson of former NBA player Larry Hughes, who was his father's high school and college teammate.
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Jayson Tatum is a cousin of former NBA player and current Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue.
62.
Jayson Tatum is friends with former Duke teammate and former NBA player Harry Giles.
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Jayson Tatum is a Christian, crediting Jesus for his career success.
64.
On June 21,2019, he signed with the Jordan Brand, and in 2023, Jayson Tatum received his own signature silhouette, the Jordan Jayson Tatum 1.
65.
In February 2024, Jayson Tatum partnered with the financial services company SoFi to help people buy homes in his hometown of St Louis.
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Jayson Tatum donated $1 million to the Jayson Tatum Foundation for the initiative.
67.
That same month, Jayson Tatum appeared on CBS News to discuss their efforts to boost home ownership and financial literacy.
68.
In July 2024, Jayson Tatum was named the cover athlete for the video game NBA 2K25.