Jayson Tatum Named Eastern Conference Player Of The Month After Transcendent February
BOSTON (CBS) -- February was a pretty good month for Jayson Tatum -- the best of his career. The Celtics forward launched himself into the superstar stratosphere with several monster performances over its 29 days, and on Tuesday, was named the Eastern Conference's Player of the Month.
Not a bad way for Tatum to spend his 22nd birthday.
In 12 games in February, Tatum averaged 30.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks for the Celtics. Boston went 9-3 as Tatum dominated opposing defenses, hitting 49 percent of his shots overall and 48 percent from three-point range.
Over in the Western Conference, LeBron James earned Player of the Month honors.
Tatum dropped 30 or more points in seven of those 12 contests last month, including a 41-point outburst in a loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles, matching his career-high. Before he played in his first career All-Star game, Tatum scored 39 points off 14-for-23 shooting in Boston's thrilling double overtime win over the Clippers at TD Garden.
Over his final four games of the month, Tatum averaged a ridiculous 35.5 points off 54 percent shooting from the floor and 53 percent shooting from downtown.
Tatum earned East Player of the Week honors back on Feb. 10 after he averaged 30 points per game and led Boston to a 4-0 record in the first week of the month. This is his first Player of the Month award, though Tatum did win Rookie of the Month back in December of 2017.
Tatum was also a nominee for East Player of the Week for the final week in February but lost out to Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo. Fittingly, Tatum's Player of the Month win broke a three-month streak for Giannis, the only other player to capture the award this season.
Unfortunately for Tatum, his month of March is getting off to a rough start, as he'll likely miss the game on his birthday night due to an illness.
