A CLOSER LOOK AND ANALYSIS
Jayson Tatum Sets an NBA All-Star Game Record in the Team Giannis Win
He scored more points than anyone had before in the All-Star Game in NBA history
An All-Star Game scoring record broken
Jayson Tatum did something that not even Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, or any other NBA superstar has done in an NBA All-Star Game. He set the All-Star scoring record while he easily took home the All-Star MVP. The Celtics forward also overshadowed a 40-point effort from his Team Giannis teammate, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell with a great performance of his own that in most games would’ve given him the MVP award. Tatum, though, scored 55 points in a 184–175 win for Team Giannis over Team LeBron.
He did this with ridiculously great efficiency too. He didn’t need to toss up more than 40 shots to get there either. He was 22 of 31 (71%) from the field and 10 of 18 (55.6%) from beyond the three-point arc. It also only took 35 minutes for him to reach this total. He added only 1 free throw on 2 attempts. I’m surprised at the number of times he went to the line with this many points.
He had a good game in other areas as well and the game was full of offense
He also added 10 rebounds and six assists along with one block and one steal. He did, however, have four turnovers, but you would expect someone handling the ball as much as he did to have as many turnovers. His plus/minus in the game was +6 good enough to place him tied for third on the team but I think that you could still safely say that his performance was the reason that his All-Star team won.
If it seems like this was one of the highest-combined-scoring All-Star games in history, it’s because it was. The game was the third-highest-scoring game with the other two games being played in the last seven years. In fact, 2017 was the year that Anthony Davis had previously held the record for most individual points scored in a game with 52 points, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s previous record of 42 which was held for decades.
The volume of threes really is unprecedented and affected the outcome as it has in this modern era of basketball
The thing is that when we used to think that the All-Star games of the past were full of offense, these recent games in the modern era have been supercharged with scoring. I definitely attribute a large part of that to the volume and improved efficiency of the three-point shot. You see that just by looking at Jayson Tatum’s numbers alone. For Team Giannis, Donovan Mitchell was 8 for 17 from long range and Damian Lillard, the three-point contest champion from All-Star weekend shot 8 for 20 from long range.
Shooting the three that often used to be unheard of but now it’s definitely been commonplace. The team as a whole was 29 for 66 (43.9%) from the three-point arc. Their superior shooting from range was definitely a major difference in the game as the other team shot 17 for 60 (28.3%). That just amplifies more how the three-pointer has shaped and defined the modern game.
If you can shoot it well, you have a better chance of winning. If you can’t, you can really sink your team. The 66 shots attempted by Team Giannis from long range were 53.7% of their total shots. As recently as the mid-2010s, that volume would’ve been absolutely unheard of.
Tatum’s range and talent is also amazing
Back to Tatum’s efficiency from range, he’s shown that he’s an elite player because he is able to shoot that shot with such range and efficiency. He is definitely built for the modern game and has shown himself to be one of the best in the game. His name should definitely be in the conversation for best in the league. He is one of the leading scorers in the league, after all.
I think that many people sleep on his talent because of the fact that he plays for a great franchise with great organization and coaching and that he has a great surrounding cast. He showed what he could do on the biggest stage though against the best players in the NBA. He totally earned the MVP, a marquee on the biggest stage, and attention for setting the scoring record. The scary part is that he’s only 24 years old. He’s still in the early part of his prime and could potentially get even better.
One of the league’s current leading scorers could go down as a legend as his career progresses
He’s already playing well this year in his sixth season in the NBA. He’s averaging 37.3 minutes per game and scoring 30.6 points per game (currently 6th in the NBA) on 46.4% shooting from the field and 35.7% from the arc along with 8.6 rebounds per game, and 4.5 assists per game. He is also averaging around one steal per game, and 0.8 blocks per game.
The All-Star sampling of what he could do from range was definitely an upgrade for the career 37.8% three-point shooter and a look into his potential going forward. His career average is still very nice but if he could string together some games like the one he had yesterday, we could be looking at a future legend. After all, he did just do something not even past legends and discussed GOATs have even approached.
