Tatum joins Bird in NBA record books amid hot start to season originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Before the 2024-25 NBA season, Jayson Tatum expressed his desire to surpass Larry Bird as the greatest Boston Celtic of all time.
“Larry Bird is the best Celtic to ever wear this uniform, and that’s the guy that I’m chasing,” he said. “Even if I fall short of that, if I aspire to be as great as he was and if you fall a little short, you had a hell of a career.”
Tatum still has a long way to go after earning his first NBA championship, but he continues to gain ground on Larry Legend at only 26 years old.
On Thursday, Tatum joined Bird in the NBA record books while helping the C’s take down the Washington Wizards and improve to 2-0. He followed his 37-point, 10-assist Opening Night performance with a 25-point, 11-rebound stat line in D.C.
According to Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe, Tatum and Bird (1987) are the only two forwards in league history to have had at least 62 points, 15 rebounds, and 16 assists in the season’s first two games.
Tatum’s offseason adjustments to his shot appear to be paying off. The five-time All-Star is 22 for 38 from the floor, including 11 for 22 from 3-point range, over his first two games.
If his 3-point shot continues to improve, that will be a terrifying development for the rest of the league. It would also help him tremendously in checking another item off his career to-do list: his first NBA MVP award.
Tatum and the C’s will hope to stay hot when they visit the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night. Tip-off for that matchup is set for 7 p.m. ET with coverage starting on NBC Sports Boston at 6 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live.