Jayson Tatum

Jayson Tatum won the game for Boston with a shot at the buzzer on 27 October 2026. The Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 125-124 in overtime at TD Garden [1]. He finished with 40 points, eight assists and a career-high 18 free throws [1].

The final possession

Mikel Brown Jr. missed a layup with seconds left, when he could have taken a foul or let the clock run out, and that gave Boston the final possession [1].

After the inbounds pass, Tatum took two dribbles and pulled up from the elbow as time ran out [1]. The win was Boston's third straight and moved the team to 3-1 [1]. The article calls it a jumper he has made countless times in his career [1].

From Missouri to Duke

Tatum was born on 3 March 1998 [2] [4]. NBC Sports Boston's 2020 profile lists him at 6 feet 8 inches and 210 pounds [4].

He went to Chaminade College Prep in Creve Coeur, Missouri, where he was rated a five-star recruit and the No. 3 overall prospect in his class [4]. As a senior in 2015-16 he averaged 29.6 points and 9.1 rebounds [4]. In 2016 he was named Gatorade National Player of the Year and a McDonald's All-American [4]. He committed to Duke during his junior year [4].

He spent one season at Duke. He played 29 games and averaged 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds [4]. There he was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team, made third-team All-ACC and was on the first team of the ACC Tournament [2]. Duke was a No. 2 seed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament and lost to No. 7 South Carolina in the second round [4]. He then skipped his sophomore season to enter the draft [4].

Draft and early seasons with Boston

Boston picked Tatum third overall in the 2017 draft. The team's announcement read: "With the third pick of the 2017 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics select Jayson Tatum from Duke University" [4]. To get him, Boston traded down with the Philadelphia 76ers and passed on Markelle Fultz, the consensus No. 1 pick [4].

As a rookie he averaged 13.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists, and Boston finished as the East's No. 2 seed [4]. In the 2018 playoffs he averaged 18.5 points and 4.4 rebounds across three series. In Game 7 against Cleveland he posterized LeBron James [4]. He made the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2018 and won the Skills Challenge in 2019 [4]. In 2018-19 he averaged 15.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists [4].

He was an NBA All-Star for the first time in 2020 [4]. Shortly before that game he had scored 39 points in a double-overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers [4].

Title and All-NBA honors

Tatum led the Celtics to the 2024 NBA championship [2]. In 2023-24 he made his third straight All-NBA First Team, his fifth career All-NBA honor, and his fifth All-Star game [2]. The same season he earned Player of the Month honors more than once, including for October and November and again in February [2]. His NBA.com bio lists four career monthly honors in total [2].

The NBA also named him to the 2024-25 All-NBA First Team [3]. For the 2025 All-Star Game he was listed among the Eastern Conference starters [10].

The 2024 title

Boston beat the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 in Game 5 and won the series [9]. It was the franchise's 18th championship, which broke a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most titles in league history [9]. Tatum scored 31 points with 11 assists and eight rebounds in that game [9]. Jaylen Brown added 21 points and was voted the NBA Finals MVP [9]. Over the playoffs, Tatum averaged team-highs in points, rebounds and assists [2].

A ruptured Achilles and a return in 2026

Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon during Boston's East semifinal against New York in 2025 [6]. He had surgery on 13 May 2025 [7]. The Celtics said he was "expected to make a full recovery" but gave no timetable [6].

He came back in March 2026, 298 days after the operation [7]. He started against the Dallas Mavericks and scored 15 points with 12 rebounds and seven assists in a 120-100 home win [7]. Coach Joe Mazzulla said, "We always knew he was coming back this year" [7]. Weeks after the surgery, Tatum told his physician, "I didn't come back to be no role player, Doc" [7].

Team USA in Paris

Tatum was on USA Basketball's roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics, listed with the Boston Celtics [5]. He did not play in Team USA's opening win over Serbia [8]. Coach Steve Kerr later said Tatum "will play" against South Sudan and that he "handled it well" [8].

USA Basketball reported that the men's team had won a fifth straight Olympic gold medal in Paris [11]. FIBA's tournament profile lists the U.S. at 6-0 and first place, and it has Tatum among its rebounding leaders at 5.3 per game [12].

Back for the 2026-27 season

In October 2026, ahead of the new season, Tatum said he was practicing and back healthy [13]. Looking back, he said a year earlier he had been "very uncertain" whether he would be able to play again [13]. Asked whether he could and wanted to play on back-to-back nights, he said, "Yes, I can," and "yes, I want to" [13].

The Celtics play back-to-back games in their first week, and five back-to-back sets are scheduled in November [13]. Tatum also pointed to the new group around him: "We got new teammates and new guys we need to embrace" [13]. After the 27 October win, Boston stood at 3-1 [1].