Duke basketball: Ranking all 27 Blue Devils in the NBA this season
By Matt Giles
Ranking Duke basketball’s NBA players this season: No. 3 Jayson Tatum
- Age: 23
- Current team: Boston Celtics (33-30)
- Games played this season: 56
- Games started: 56
- Season averages: 25.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.4 blocks
- Shooting percentages: 45.5 from the field, 38.3 beyond the arc, 86.9 from the foul line
If not for the Boston Celtics somewhat underperforming this season, then Jayson Tatum would be on the verge of surpassing the next Duke basketball product here. Well, actually, the 6-foot-8, 210-pound small forward from St. Louis might still need to improve his shooting percentages; after all, they each are below those of the runner-up here.
But given Tatum’s past playoff luster and his abundance of top-shelf double-doubles this season — eight this month alone, including one with 53 points and 10 boards plus two others with scoring totals of 38 or more — it’s clear that the two-time All-Star should remain among the top three or four on new versions of this type of ranking for years to come.