Jayson Tatum is the ‘next up’ as the league’s face

Jayson Tatum has made a name for himself since breaking into the NBA during the 2017-18 season. And one former player, who played against Tatum before retiring, believes the Boston Celtics standout will become the league’s face one day.

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“Right now I say Jayson Tatum is that guy who’s next up on that list of really taking over and being the frontrunner for the guy who’s gonna be in the commercials, the guy who goes out and is the face of the NBA,” Lou Williams said on FanDuel TV on Monday.

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Tatum was chosen Eastern Conference Player of the Week after scoring at least 30 points in three consecutive games to help Boston maintain the NBA’s only unbeaten team entering Monday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 25-year-old also made history by becoming the Celtics’ youngest player to surpass 10,000 career points.

Williams also mentioned rookie Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic as potential league faces.

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In his seven-year career, the four-time All-Star has amassed an incredible resume and is becoming more of a household name with each passing season. What he lacks is an NBA championship and an MVP, both of which are highly likely this year.

On FanDuel, the Celtics are the +370 favorite to win it all this year. They made some changes and big offseason additions in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, which have already helped make a good squad even better and deeper.

This season, Tatum is averaging 30.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game while shooting 55.0% from the field. It’s been a long season, but he’ll remain in the MVP conversation as long as he plays at an exceptional level.