Jayson Tatum’s struggle to find late-game heroics this season has looked downright Sisyphus-like. The Celtics superstar has pocketed his share of signature playoff games during his young NBA career, but his ability to beat the buzzer or just command the final minute of a close game has lacked during an otherwise pristine 2023-24 regular season.
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“Clutch” sounds like sports radio jargon, but it’s actually an NBA statistic: the association categorizes clutch shooting as any shot taken in the final five minutes of the game in which the score differential is within five points.
Tatum’s effective field goal percentage (both 2- and 3-pointers) sits at 51% in NBA clutch situations, or slightly above the league standard of 47%. Where he comes up short is best encapsulated by a statistic formed by the actuary geniuses at inpredictable.com. The stat is called “double clutch,” and is defined as shots “crucial to game outcome, or the top 1% impact in potential win probability.”
“Double clutch shots are intended to be the highlight reel shots; the ones that build, or destroy, a player's legacy,” inpredictable.com explains.
Double clutch shots typically happen around or within the last two minutes of the game, with a point differential within two scores.
Tatum has had 19 shot attempts in this category, which is in line with most other NBA stars playing at guard or wing, and his numbers speak for themselves when stacked against the other NBA players competing in the 2024 playoffs with at least 12 double clutch shot attempts. These are the most clutch shooters in the playoffs based on the regular season and play-in tournament:
1. LeBron James
Clutch: 55%, Double clutch: 67% in 12 attempts
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Clutch: 53%, Double clutch: 57% in 15 attempts
3. Malik Monk
Clutch: 50%, Double clutch: 54% in 14 attempts
4. De’Aaron Fox
Clutch: 51%, Double clutch: 50% in 22 attempts
5. Anthony Edwards
Clutch: 50%, Double clutch: 50% in 15 attempts
6. Jalen Brunson
Clutch: 45%, Double clutch: 48% in 20 attempts
7. Coby White
Clutch: 54%, Double clutch: 46% in 13 attempts
8. Donovan Mitchell
Clutch: 50%, Double clutch: 46% in 12 attempts
9. Nikola Jokic
Clutch: 61%, Double clutch: 46% in 12 attempts
10. DeMar DeRozan
Clutch: 48%, Double clutch: 42% in 26 attempts
11. Kevin Durant
Clutch: 50%, Double clutch: 41% in 17 attempts
12. Karl-Anthony Towns
Clutch: 53%, Double clutch: 39% in 13 attempts
13. Damian Lillard
Clutch: 53%, Double clutch: 38% in 20 attempts
14. Dejounte Murray
Clutch: 49%, Double clutch: 36% in 14 attempts
15. Tyrese Maxey
Clutch: 49%, Double clutch: 36% in 14 attempts
16. Trae Young
Clutch: 49%, Double clutch: 34%
17. Darius Garland
Clutch: 50%, Double Clutch: 31% in 13 attempts
18. Jimmy Butler
Clutch: 40%, Double clutch: 29% on 19 attempts
19. Jayson Tatum
Clutch: 51%, Double clutch: 24% in 19 attempts