Star power in the NBA is of the utmost importance. If you do not have at least one, it is very hard to be competitive. If you have at least two, you can start entering the conversation as being legitimate contenders in the league.
Numerous teams around the league have the first part down, hitting on draft picks and watching those players blossom into All-Stars and MVP candidates. Two of the teams that have accomplished that are the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics.
Both teams have hit on recent high draft picks. With the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Mavericks selected Luka Doncic. With the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Celtics selected Jayson Tatum.
Both teams made shrewd moves to acquire the future All-Stars, as the Mavericks completed a trade with the Atlanta Hawks, sending them the draft rights to Trae Young and Cam Reddish. The Celtics traded back from the No. 1 overall pick with the Philadelphia 76ers, who selected Markelle Fultz No. 1 overall.
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Doncic and Tatum are two of the brightest stars currently in the game. Doncic has already ascended into being a perennial MVP candidate as it feels like it is just a matter of time until he takes home the award. Tatum looks like he will be a regular on the All-Star and All-NBA teams, making three and two, respectively, already in his career.
Over at ESPN, a survey was recently done by 15 coaches, scouts and executives around the league. They were asked a number of questions, one of which was who will be the best player in the NBA in five years.
While Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks finished first in the voting with seven, Doncic was right behind him with six. The only other player to receive a vote was Tatum, who tallied the last two.
The reason that Tatum was selected by two of the voters was the potential he has been tapping into as a two-way star.
“Just because of the defensive component,” said an Eastern Conference scout. “Luka is a stud, and you don’t need to be a defensive lockdown guy to be an All-NBA player like he is, but having Tatum’s self-creation ability, his physical tools and his ability to give you defensive versatility, that’s pretty special.
“Luka did a hell of a job carrying that team this year, but the two-way wing creator/scorer is the ultimate archetype, and Tatum is that at 24 years old, and just got that team to the Finals. I just like his ability to give you something defensively that Luka likely never will be able to.”
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Doncic is hoping to bring his team to the heights that Tatum has helped the Celtics reach. In five seasons in the NBA, he has already played in three Eastern Conference Finals, advancing to the NBA Finals this past season.
The Boston Celtics would end up losing that series to the Golden State Warriors, who knocked Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks out of the postseason in the Western Conference Finals. If things continue trending in the direction that they currently are, we could see Doncic and Jayson Tatum face off in an NBA Finals matchup before too long.
