How Former NBA Players Projected Futures Of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the stars of the Boston Celtics right now. But do they have what it takes to be the face of the NBA as they head into next phases of their career?

Former NBA players don’t necessarily think so.

The Athletic’s Josh Robbins and Sam Amick polled 118 former NBA players to get their thoughts on a variety of topics. In addition to asking about the best current player (44.2% said Kevin Durant) and which player they would want taking a game-winning shot (again, 48.9% said Durant).

No Celtics players showed up in the voting in either of those categories, but both Tatum and Brown did crack the list when players were asked which player will be the best in five years. However, it wasn’t exactly promising.

Giannis Antetokounmpo topped the list with 28.2% of the vote, while 20.2% were honest and said they didn’t know. Tatum pulled in at seventh on the list with 3.8% of the vote, while Brown finished among 11 players with 0.8% of votes.

For what it’s worth, The Athletic agreed with those who picked Antetokounmpo.