Jayson Tatum

Loud and clear in his halftime message to the Boston Celtics about keeping one’s foot on the gas in the second half of Game Three, Jayson Tatum found that he was equally unguardable, even when the situation called for a quick pump of the brakes. Aggressive in his hunt to supply the game’s finishing touches, Tatum fittingly opts for a post touch, stationing himself along the left wing before sweeping down the baseline, in search of a move to shake Max Strus’ tight defense. Forced to halt his speed entirely with the out-of-bounds line acting as an extra defender, Tatum puts on a masterclass in pivots and balance, using his left foot to spin ever-so-slightly before spinning back towards the baseline for a smooth, shot clock-beating slingshot that served as the game’s dagger. A handful to deal with on both sides of the floor, Tatum chaptered one of his most dominant performances of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, totalling 33 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block, and two 3-pointers, carving a path for a 2-1 series lead on May 11, 2024. The victory in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ arena also added to the Celtics’ excellence in road playoff games — 17-7 over a three-season span — the fifth-best mark in NBA history.