Jayson Tatum’s leap to stardom is a testament to Danny Ainge’s patience

The Celtics forward has blossomed, and Boston is a darkhorse contender.

Jayson Tatum confirmed on Sunday what we’ve seen throughout this season: he’s made a jump up into stardom in his third NBA season, pushing aside any concerns everyone had about the 2017 third overall pick after a sub-par 2018-19.

Against the formidable Los Angeles Lakers, he poured in 41 points (missing only eight of his 20 shots and three of his seven from distance), nearly beating LeBron James’s contenders in a game without Kemba Walker in a 114-112 loss.

He was so impressive that James took to Instagram to call him “Young King” in a post in which he said Tatum was “an ABSOLUTE PROBLEM.”

Tatum deserves all of that praise and more. It’s also a good time as any to heap praise on Celtics general manager Danny Ainge. Over a year ago, I wondered if Ainge had ultimately messed up the trade with the Brooklyn Nets that gave the Celts the chance to draft Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and the pick that would help them deal for Kyrie Irving. We all know how the Irving trade turned out, and Ainge never used all of his other young assets to acquire a player like Paul George or Anthony Davis (who Tatum played well against on Sunday).

But Ainge stayed patient. And that patience has paid off. He decided to wait for Tatum to gain a third year’s worth of confidence and for Brown to prove he was worth big money. Ainge must have seen that Irving wasn’t the right fit and that Walker was. He’s even held on to Marcus Smart, who could be a good trade chip but is instead a valuable two-way player with the ability to turn a playoff series.

The result? Yes, the Celtics aren’t arguably in the upper tier of NBA contenders, but they’re a dangerous darkhorse, the current third seed in the East who could make noise in the postseason. Long-term, they’ve got a core that could keep taking steps forward, giving them the “big three” that NBA teams crave.

It turns out you don’t need to follow the same cookie-cutter method to building a team. Ainge waited, and now he’s got a team on the verge of being really dangerous, both this postseason and down the road.

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