Jayson Tatum has been on top of the basketball world for the last month or so.
And it prompted the NBA to name the Boston Celtics forward the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for February.
It’s the first time Tatum has won the prestigious monthly honor, which the NBA announced Tuesday on Tatum’s 22nd birthday.
“Tatum … averaged a team-high 30.7 points (49.4 percent field goals, 48.1 percent 3-pointers), 7.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocked shots to help guide Boston to a 9-3 record for the month,” the Celtics wrote in a statement.
“The St. Louis, MO native was one of two NBA players and the only Eastern Conference competitor to average at least 30.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in February (Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook).”
Tatum is the first Celtics player to earn Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors since Jan. 2017, when Isaiah Thomas claimed it.
Debates have swirled recently over whether Tatum ranks among the NBA’s superstars or if his level of play merely is star-quality. The Eastern Conference Player of the Month honor offers a definitive answer of where Tatum currently stands.
