Make it back-to-back All-Star nods for BBE alum Jayson Tatum.
Tatum was announced as an All-Star reserve from the Eastern Conference on Tuesday night, joining fellow BBE alum and St. Louis native Bradley Beal on the team.
JT is currently averaging career-highs across the board with 26.1 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game and 4.6 assists per game while keeping his shooting percentage in line with his last two years despite attempting more shots per game than at any time in his career. At 22 years old, he is the youngest player in Celtics history to be named an All-Star multiple times.
“It’s an honor,” Tatum said. “Obviously I don’t take that for granted. Just thankful, earning the respect of your peers, people you play against, the coaches that coach against you night-in and night-out.”
BACK TO BACK 💪🏾⭐️ pic.twitter.com/lpGqaQ0Zkt
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 24, 2021
Tatum will be joined among East reserves by his Boston Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown.
JT and Brown are just the second Celtics duo to receive All-Star honors in the same season before 25 years of age. They join Bob Cousy and Ed Macauley, who did so in 1953, with the unique feat.
Brooklyn’s James Harden, Chicago’s Zach LaVine, New York Knicks forward Julius Randle, Orlando’s Nikola Vukevic and Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons round out the reserves selected by Eastern Conference coaches. West reserves include LA Clippers forward Paul George, LA Lakers big man Anthony Davis, New Orleans forward Zion Williamson, Phoenix’s Chris Paul, Portland’s Damian Lillard, and Utah’s Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Starters on the East side include Beal, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid. West starters include Dallas guard Luka Doncic, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and LA Lakers forward LeBron James.
James and Durant have been named team captains based on receiving the most fan votes and will select teams from that pool of 20 in the All-Star draft. We’ll soon find out if Brad and JT will be on the same squad. The Draft is scheduled for Thursday, Match 4th and the 2021 NBA All-Star Game is scheduled to be played on Sunday, March 7th in Atlanta.
