When it comes to the Boston Celtics, there is no shortage of great players who have donned the Celtic green. The Celtics storied tradition is currently being carried on by Jayson Tatum, who has etched his name in the Celtics’ history books. During the Celtics’ win against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, Jayson Tatum reached another franchise milestone not seen since Larry Bird was roamed the court, as per K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network.
Jayson Tatum became the first Celtics player since Larry Bird to put up a 40-point triple double. Tatum finished with 43 points, 16 rebounds and ten assists. He shot 16-of-24 from the field and 9-of-15 from the three-point line.
No Celtics’ player has reached that milestone since 1992 when Larry Bird had a 40-point triple double against the Portland Trail Blazers. That game, Bird had 49 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, as per StatMuse. Bird had three 40-point triple doubles in his career.
Tatum’s career is still going strong and when it’s all said and done, he’s on pace to be one of the Celtics’ all-time greats. He won his first championship last season as the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in five games to win the NBA Finals.
During the Celtics’ playoff run last year, Tatum averaged 25 points, 9.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 42.7 percent shooting from the field, 28.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 86.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Coming into Saturday’s game against the Bulls, Tatum had appeared in 25 games at a little over 36 minutes per game. He had been averaging 28.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.2 steals with splits of 45.3 percent shooting from the field, 35.9 percent shooting from the three-point line and 80.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The Celtics are currently 22-6 and in second place in the Eastern Conference standings behind only the Cleveland Cavaliers.
