Celtics' Jayson Tatum Lands at No. 13 in Player Rankings for 'Wildcard' Reason
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Celtics' Jayson Tatum Lands at No. 13 in Player Rankings for 'Wildcard' Reason originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Ahead of the 2026-27 season, ESPN ranked Jayson Tatum as the NBA's ninth-best player.
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The Sporting News' Steph Noh isn't quite as high on the Boston Celtics star.
Noh has Tatum ranked No. 13 in his rankings of NBA starters, putting him between the Houston Rockets' Kevin Durant (12) and the Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton (14).
Tatum isn't the only star Noh took a cautious approach with. He called Tatum, Haliburton, Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid "wildcards" because of the uncertainty surrounding their health.
"Tatum looked like 80 percent of himself in his brief stint last year," Noh wrote. "Embiid's defense looks like it will never be back at its elite level, but he's still a good enough offensive player to be in the top 25. Davis could have a huge year playing next to an elite lob thrower in Trae Young. And Haliburton is the biggest question mark after missing an entire season with his Achilles and shingles issues. His passing should immediately return. The conditioning and shooting touch may take longer."
MORE:Celtics Finally Answer Jayson Tatum Injury Question On Everyone's Mind
Interestingly, Noh's assessment lines up closely with Tatum's own evaluation of his health last season.
Tatum admitted that he wasn't at full strength when he returned from his Achilles injury. He estimated that he was at 80-85 percent, noting that one of his legs was still smaller than the other.
The good news for the Celtics is Tatum appears to have put his Achilles injury behind him.
At media day, Tatum said he feels "great" after using the offseason to get stronger and more explosive. Joe Mazzulla said more recently that he thinks Tatum's injury concerns are a thing of the past.
That should give Tatum a chance to prove Noh's No. 13 ranking is too low.