Jayson Tatum, the NBA’s youngest OG

Jayson Tatum is just 19 years 26 years young, soon to be 27 in March. Somehow, he ended up on “Shaq’s OG” team for the All-Star Game, an ensemble of the league’s aging icons. He and Jaylen Brown were the only players under 30 to be on the roster. The next youngest was 31-year-old Anthony Davis, who was actually replaced by 32-year-old Kyrie Irving.

Jalen Brunson, who is 28 years old, ended up playing for “Kenny’s Young Stars,” the team meant to represent the younger, up-and-coming players. So, why was Tatum labeled an “OG” despite Brunson being older than him? Well, it all comes down to the resume. Jayson Tatum has already created a legacy that not many can touch, all before even turning 27.

Brunson is an outstanding player in his own right, but he doesn’t have the prolonged excellence that JT does. In just seven years, Jayson has racked up six All-Star selections, four All-NBA selections, three of them to the First Team, an Eastern Conference Finals MVP, a championship ring, and two Olympic gold medals. He also holds the record for the most points in a Game 7, most playoff points scored before turning 27, and the 7^th most career points scored before turning 27. His accomplishments up to this point would already be enough to get him into the Hall of Fame, and he hasn’t even hit his prime yet.

Being an OG isn’t just about being good at what you do, though. It’s about earning the respect and leaving an imprint on the younger generation. Despite what the mainstream sports outlets and the Twitter trolls may tell you, Jayson has done more than enough to earn the regard of his peers. You don’t have to take my word for it; just look at how the players talked about him during All-Star Weekend.

Bleacher Report asked this year’s Rising Stars about their “welcome to the league” moments. To nobody’s surprise, multiple players mentioned Big Deuce. JD Davison, who was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 2022, said that in his first year he was matched up with Jayson in a game of starters vs. bench. He took a hit to the chest from Jayson, and recalled feeling like, “Damn, man. Gotta get stronger.”

Chicago Bulls rookie, Matas Buzelis, shared a similar sentiment, though he was too embarrassed to go into detail. He jokingly said “It was tough. Let’s not talk about that.”

San Antonio Spurs rookie, Stephon Castle, had some high praise for Jayson as well. Tatum and Castle briefly matched up in the first round of the All-Star Game, where the OG’s knocked off the Rising Stars. Following the game, CelticsBlog’s Noa Dalzell caught up with Stephon and asked him about the experience of competing against JT.

“I’ve been a big fan of JT for a minute. Just getting to share the court with him is a blessing,” he said. Castle has also been wearing Jayson Tatum’s signature Jordan brand shoes throughout the season.

Jayson has already left his mark on the next generation of players, but the older generation has been giving him his flowers as well. With talks of a potential 1v1 tournament being implemented as a future All-Star event, several players were asked who they think could win it. Kevin Durant provided JT as one of his answers, after naming himself, of course.

This is all coming from just the past few days of All-Star Weekend. Players like LeBron James and Steph Curry have been singing his praises for years now. It hasn’t taken long for Jayson Tatum to put the NBA on notice and establish himself as one of the premier basketball players in the world. Celtics fans have been lucky enough to see him grow over the past seven years, and if all goes well, we should have the pleasure of seeing him continue to excel for a lot longer.