JAYSON Tatum is simultaneously silencing his doubters and making a prophet of LeBron James this season. “He’s built for stardom,” King James enthused of the then-rookie Boston Celtics forward after his Cleveland Cavaliers were forced to fight hard over seven games for their 2018 Easter Conference title.

After injury ended star man Kyrie Irving’s season in March, Tatum stepped up and drove the Celtics into and through the post-season, becoming only the second rookie in NBA history, alongside all-time scoring leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to score 20 or more points in 10 or more straight play-off games, adding a dunk over James in the Eastern Finals to his personal highlight reel along the way.

Tatum, the third overall pick in the 2017 draft out of esteemed hoops powerhouse Duke University, had well and truly arrived in the big leagues. His second season brought a reality check, though, and many observers began to recalibrate their expectations of the 6’ 8” Celtic.

Jayson Tatum last 10 games
➖➖➖
26.1 PPG
6.5 RPG
3.2 APG
1.6 SPG
49% FG | 44% 3PT | 83% FT

Just keeps getting better and better ☘️ pic.twitter.com/mnBkaEKHWW

— Hilltop Hoops (@HilltopNBA) February 7, 2020

While, aside from a dip in shooting efficiency, he hadn’t necessarily regressed, neither had he taken the developmental leap expected of him after putting up the best rookie campaign seen in Boston since Larry Bird’s first year in 1979-80.

And during the early weeks of the 2019-20 season, talk had turned to whether Tatum should still be considered the best prospect at TD Garden, or whether fourth-year team-mate Jaylen Brown, himself demonstrating a vastly sharpened game, instead deserved that distinction.

As he prepares for his first All-Star game this weekend, though, Tatum’s electric form since the turn of the year has not only re-established him as the youngster with the highest ceiling in Boston, but also as the Celtics’ best player right now, eclipsing effervescent point guard Kemba Walker as head coach Brad Stevens’ most-relied-upon man.

With score-first point guard Irving having left for the Brooklyn Nets last summer, Tatum has filled the gap as his team’s most-potent scoring threat, leading the Celtics with 22.2 points per game. He’s also putting up career-high marks in assists (2.9), rebounds (6.9), steals (1.3) and blocks (0.9), evidencing the wholeness of his improvement.

Dating back to his career-high 41 points in the Celtics’ 35-point win over the New Orleans Pelicans on 11 January, Tatum has scored at least 20 points in 11 of his last 12 games at the time of writing. There have never been many glaring holes in the 21-year-old’s skill-set, but a lack of consistency was his biggest issue; that appears to be a concern confined to the past now. His finishing close to the rim was another area in need of improvement, but that, too, has been addressed, with his accuracy from within five feet of the basket at 60 per cent since the Pelicans game, up on his previous 51.6 per cent.

Every single part of this play was elite.

Jayson Tatum, ladies and gentlemen. (via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/CIaymiml5u

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) February 9, 2020

Tatum, who won the Skills Challenge at last year’s All-Star weekend, has the smooth handle of a small, nimble point guard, the hustle on the defensive end to make him a constant thorn for opponents and has an ever-improving playmaking game. His pull-up three-pointer, which he sinks at a league-second-best 39.2 per cent clip, has been the Celtic’s single greatest offensive weapon of late, and when combined with his ability to spin to the rim from the post or squeeze through the slightest gaps in coverage to attack the rim, means defences can’t take their eyes off him.

As teams around the league increasingly train their tactical focus on building around a superstar, the fact the Celtics do things different under Stevens makes Tatum all the more difficult for opposing sides to plan for. When the gravity of Tatum’s threat draws defensive attention, space opens up elsewhere for Walker, Brown, Gordon Hayward and Marcus Smart – three of whom average over 17 points per game. And while Stevens eschews the notion of a single superstar as a focal point, Tatum is organically emerging as one.

The great Tatum debate has shifted. It’s no longer about whether he can eventually become a top-10 player in the league; it’s whether he is there already, and how soon he can elevate himself into the MVP discussion.

Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is the pre-eminent player in the East, but there is no reason why Tatum, if he maintains his current levels, can’t be next in line. Just like the pull-up threes he sinks so reliably, Tatum has snatched control of his developmental arc and shot it skyward.