Jayson Tatum seems destined for superstardom in the NBA, but one advanced metric already has the Boston Celtics forward ranked close behind some of the league’s best.
Just 49 games into his third season of professional basketball, Tatum’s Real Plus-Minus (RPM) of 5.37 has him ranked fifth in the NBA behind very good company.
Only the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James (10.29), the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (7.61), the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard (7.02) and the Houston Rockets’ James Harden (6.55) were in front of Tatum entering Wednesday.
This statistic measures a player’s average impact, using his net point differential for every 100 offensive and defensive possessions while he’s on the court.
Tatum, who was just named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played between Feb. 3 and Feb. 9, has emerged as one of the best players on the Celtics this season. Leading the team with an average of 22.1 points per game, Tatum has aided Boston to a third-place standing in the East, trailing only the Bucks and the Toronto Raptors.
Tatum is set to make his first appearance in the NBA All-Star Game this season as a reserve.
