Jayson Tatum

High School career

Tatum attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in Creve Coeur, Missouri. As a Freshman, he averaged 13.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. As a Sophomore, he averaged 26.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. As a Junior, Tatum averaged 25.9 points per game, 11.7 rebounds per game while earning Second-team Naismith Trophy All American honors. As a Senior, he averaged 29.6 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game, while posting six 40 point games while he led Chaminade Prep to their second Missouri Class 5A state championship during the 2015-16 season alongside Iowa's Tyler Cook, Duquesne's Mike Lewis, and Princeton's Will Gladson. In 2016, he was named Gatorade National Player of the Year. Tatum was selected to the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game in January 2016, where he competed in the Skills competition which he would win, and in the all-star game on March 30, 2016, at the United Center in Chicago, IL, leading the East Team in scoring with 18 points and grabbing 8 rebounds in a 114-107 loss to the West Team. Tatum also played in the Jordan Brand Classic, and Nike Hoop Summit all star games.

College career

Tatum was a five-star recruit and is regarded as one of the top players in the 2016 class. He was ranked the #3 overall player in the Class of 2016 by ESPN behind Harry Giles and Josh Jackson. He committed to Duke University to play college basketball. On January 4, 2017, Tatum scored 19 points and in a 110-57 victory over Georgia Tech. On January 7, 2017, Tatum recorded 22 points and 6 rebounds to defeat Boston College. On January 21, 2017, Tatum provided 14 points defeating Miami 70-58. On February 15, 2017, Tatum scored 28 points and 8 rebounds in a victory against Virginia. As the fifth seed in the ACC Tournament, Duke defeated Clemson in the second round and Louisville in the quarterfinals. On March 10, 2017, Tatum scored 24 points to defeat rival North Carolina Tar Heels in the semifinals. On March 11, 2017, Tatum scored 19 points and 8 rebounds in a 75-69 victory against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to become ACC Tournament Champions. As the #2 seed entering the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils defeated Troy University in the first round, but went on to lose to the University of South Carolina in a second round upset.

At the conclusion of his freshman season at Duke, Tatum announced his intention to forgo his final three years of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2017 NBA Draft, where he was projected as a first round selection.

Boston Celtics (2017–present)

On June 22, 2017, Tatum was selected with the third overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics, thus becoming the team's second straight choice at pick #3 behind another small forward, Jaylen Brown, the previous year. During the 2017 NBA Summer League event in Utah, Tatum displayed his abilities in full effect, averaging 18.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 2.0 assists in nearly 33 minutes of action there. Meanwhile, out in the Las Vegas, Tatum provided similar results by averaging 17.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.8 blocks in nearly 32 minutes of action for the three games he was allowed to play there. As a result, he was named a member of the All-Summer League Second Team alongside Bryn Forbes, Cheick Diallo, Wayne Selden Jr., and Kyle Kuzma.

National team career

He played in the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship and 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, making the Eurobasket.com All-World Championship U19 Second Team.

Representing Team USA at the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit, Tatum saw 16:57 of action, scoring 14 points, pulling down 4 rebounds and also had 2 assists, two steals and one block.