Jayson Tatum is an All-NBA player for the first time.
After taking a big step forward in his third year in the league, the 22-year-old Tatum landed on the All-NBA Third Team, announced Wednesday afternoon. Tatum jumped from 15.7 points per game last season to 23.4 this year, while also averaging seven rebounds per game.
Tatum is the third Celtic to earn All-NBA honors in recent years, as Isaiah Thomas made the Second Team in 2016-17 and Kyrie Irving did the same last year. Current Celtics point guard Kemba Walker earned Third Team honors last year as a member of the Hornets.
Tatum collected 153 points in the voting conducted by writers and broadcasters, the most of anyone on the Third Team, and just 15 points behind Toronto's Pascal Siakam for a spot on the Second Team. If playoffs were taken into account, it's safe to say those two probably would have flipped given their respective play in their second-round series against each other.
Here are all three All-NBA Teams for this season:
First Team
G Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
G James Harden (Rockets)
F LeBron James (Lakers)
F Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
F/C Anthony Davis (Lakers)
Second Team
G Chris Paul (Thunder)
G Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)
F Kawhi Leonard (Clippers)
F Pascal Siakam (Raptors)
C Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
Third Team
G Ben Simmons (76ers)
G Russell Westbrook (Rockets)
F Jimmy Butler (Heat)
F Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
C Rudy Gobert (Jazz)
