Jayson Tatum second-fastest to 1,500 playoff points, behind only NBA icon originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Through his first five NBA seasons, Jayson Tatum has already racked up ample postseason experience for the Boston Celtics.
With 66 playoff games now under his belt after Boston’s win over the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Tatum eclipsed another postseason milestone in reaching 1,500 points for his postseason career.
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At 24 years and 83 days old, Tatum becomes the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach the total, trailing only one of the game’s true icons — not to mention Tautm’s idol in the late, great Kobe Bryant.
Tatum is now one of five players to reach 1,500 points in the postseason before turning 25, along with Bryant, LeBron James, Tony Parker and Kevin Durant.
Now at 1,508 after a 22-point showing in Wednesday’s win, Tatum could in theory pass both Durant (1,546) and Parker (1,547) with a monster showing in Game 6 of the series on Friday. Should the Celtics advance past the Heat and go on to a lengthy series against the Golden State Warriors or Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, Tatum has an outside shot at surpassing James (1,761), too.
While Tatum’s ultimate goal should be winning championships, the company he’s keeping whenever he appears on lists such as these for players to accomplish x before turning 25 shows just how great of a start his career is off to. Even if he’s no longer 19.
