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As Tatum turns 27, let's evaluate his ranking among the NBA's greatest of all time

Is Jayson Tatum underappreciated?

The Boston Celtics star believes the answer is yes, judging by comments he made in a recent interview with Michael Lee of the Washington Post.

“If you took the name and the face away from all my accomplishments and you’re just like, ‘This is what this Player A accomplished at 26,’ people would talk about me a lot differently,” Tatum told Lee.

That got us thinking: As Tatum celebrates his 27th birthday on Monday, what exactly has he accomplished? We know the resume highlights, of course: six-time NBA All-Star, three-time First-Team All-NBA, 2023 NBA All-Star Game MVP, 2022 Eastern Conference Finals MVP, 2024 NBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist.

But where do Tatum’s stats before his 27th birthday rank among the best NBA players of all time?

If you appreciate Tatum’s greatness, the answer shouldn’t surprise you. Tatum is one of just three players in NBA history to record at least 13,000 points and 4,000 rebounds before their 27th birthday, alongside LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain. And during Friday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tatum surpassed Chamberlain for sixth on the league’s all-time under-27 scoring list.

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Every player in the top 10 is a current or future Hall of Famer, and if Tatum keeps up his current pace, he’ll very likely join them in Springfield one day. But that’s not the only leaderboard that prominently features Tatum.

The eight-year veteran also owns the NBA record for most made 3-pointers before turning 27 (1,502) and ranks in the top five all-time in points, 3-pointers, games played and wins in the postseason before age 27. Here’s where Tatum ranks all-time in those four categories in the regular season and playoffs among players under age 27:

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Tatum is an incredibly gifted scorer who has blossomed into an elite two-way player. But his most impressive trait might be his durability, as he’s never missed more than eight games in a season and has started all 113 of the playoff games in his career.

“Since I’ve gotten in the league, it’s just trying to get better every single year,” Tatum said recently when asked what’s motivating him a year after winning his first title.

“I’m very accomplished at a young age, but the truth is, I envision myself as one of those guys — LeBron (James), Steph (Curry), KD (Kevin Durant). I want the next generation to view me as that.”

Tatum made an immediate impact when he entered the league in 2017, playing in 80 of Boston’s 82 games as a 19-year-old rookie while averaging 13.9 points per game. He’s made exponential strides ever since, to the point where he’s averaging career highs in rebounds (8.8) and assists (5.8) per game in Year 8 to go along with 26.8 points per game.

So, we’ll let you judge whether Tatum is underappreciated. But the numbers make a strong case for how Tatum should be viewed as he begins his 27th year.