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Jayson Tatum made franchise history Monday afternoon, as he became the first Boston Celtics player to win back-to-back Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards. He also became just the second player in NBA history to win the award three times in the same month, joining LeBron James, who accomplished the feat in January of 2012.
Tatum continued his excellent month by averaging 32.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks over a span of three games from March 21 to March 27, each of which resulted in a win for the Celtics.
During those matchups against Oklahoma City, Utah, and Minnesota, the 24-year-old shot 58.2 percent (32-of-55) from the field, 50.0 percent (15-of-30) from 3-point range, and 100 percent (17-of-17) from the free throw line.
It marked the fourth time this season in which Tatum has earned the award, tying Larry Bird’s mark for most wins in the same season.
Now, let’s take a look back at the performances that allowed Tatum to stand out among the crowd, yet again.
3/21 at Oklahoma City
Tatum’s best game of the week came right off the bat, as he and the Celtics concluded a four-game sweep out West. During the final game of the trip in Oklahoma City, JT dropped 36 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field, while also connecting on a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line, as Boston struck down the Thunder, 132-123. Apart from it being his best scoring game, Tatum also logged week-highs of seven rebounds and two steals to go along with six assists and a block, showing no sign of fatigue despite playing 39 minutes on the second night of a back-to-back.
3/23 vs. Utah
Even though it was his lowest-scoring game of the week, Wednesday night’s effort against the Utah Jazz was still the most efficient game of Jayson Tatum’s week. He logged 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, while also notching three rebounds and three assists. The only reason why Tatum didn’t reach 30 in the scoring column was that the Celtics dominated the Jazz so excessively that they only needed their star wing for 29 minutes of a 125-97 win at TD Garden.
3/27 vs. Minnesota
Tatum capped off his week with another mid-30s effort in the scoring column, as he dropped 34 points on 12-of-21 shooting against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves. Tatum also grabbed five rebounds, dished out six assists, and logged one apiece in the steal and block departments. His most impressive stat was being a game-best plus-34 during just under 34 minutes of action, which brought his weekly total up to a plus-62 in 101 total minutes. It also marked the fifth straight game in which Tatum knocked down at least five 3-pointers, which is the longest such streak in franchise history, and one that remains ongoing.