Boston Celtics F Jayson Tatum is this week’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week . . . again. After earning the honors last week, another strong week of being the best player in the East over the last seven days has earned him repeat honors as he’s climbed up NBA.com’s MVP leaderboard all the way up to fourth place.
Let’s recap the last seven days, shall we? The Celtics went undefeated last week (3 straight wins) against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves (featuring last week’s Western Conference Player of the Week, Karl-Anthony Towns). In those three victories, Tatum put together 32.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks while shooting 58.2% from the field (!) and 50.0% from behind the 3-point line.
That’s absurd.
Per the NBA’s official release: “The three-time all-star was the only NBA player to average 32.0 points while shooting 50.0% from beyond the arc throughout the week, having registered at least 25 points and five three-point field goals in all three games.”
Tatum’s putting together a nice season despite a really slow start in the closing months of 2021. Since the new year began, he’s been on fire, now averaging for the season a career-high 27.1 points, a career-high 8.1 rebounds (!), and a career-high 4.3 assists. He’s set Celtics history on numerous occasions, including most 50-point games in franchise history, and today is his latest addition to Celtics lore – he’s the only Celtic player to earn consecutive Player of the Week distinctions.
He’s only in his fifth NBA season.
Oh, and Devin Booker earned the Western Conference Player of the Week award for the Phoenix Suns. I suppose that’s kind of important.
Tatum won’t be testing his right patella tendinopathy tonight against the Toronto Raptors, but when he suits up next, he’ll be aiming to continue his recent dominance that has both propelled the Celtics to the top of the Eastern Conference standings and himself near the top of the MVP conversation.
