Watch out, NBA. Jayson Tatum still is climbing.
NBA skills coach Drew Hanlen predicted in an article Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix published Thursday the Boston Celtics forward will win the NBA scoring title one day and reckons he'll be good enough to lead an offense to victory in the NBA Finals. Hanlen, who has worked with Tatum since he was just 13 years old, believes Tatum's combination of talent, coachability and work ethic is bound to bound to take him to the top of the scoring charts.
"He'll lead the NBA in scoring someday," Hanlen told Mannix. "You will be able to run a championship offense through him."
Hanlen obviously has a fondness for Tatum, but that shouldn't discount his insight. With a client list that includs NBA MVP candidates Joel Embiid and Bradley Beal, who leads the NBA in scoring at 34.8 points per game, Hanlen has intimate knowledge of what superstars are made of and he believes Tatum has the right stuff..
Tatum is averaging a career-high 26.8 points per game in 2020-21. Hanlen reckons that figure soon will represent a baseline for the 22-year-old NBA All-Star forward.
"His ceiling is really high," Hanlen said. "And he's just getting started."
Should Tatum reach those peaks, the Boston Celtics likely will benefit most from Hanlen's prediction coming to pass.
