Jayson Tatum's Superstar Leap Is Making the Boston Celtics a Superteam

The Boston Celtics are off to a great start in the preseason with a trio of victories over the Brooklyn Nets.

The same Nets who added Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency in 2019. The same Nets who traded for James Harden in 2020.

Brooklyn has been one of the most high-profile examples of team-building during the NBA's superteam era.

They got the shortest title odds before the season started. It doesn't look like it will be good enough to beat the Celtics, who are playing as much like a superteam as anyone.

This started with the playoffs. Boston has been the team to beat this season. They have a plus-12.7 net rating, which is 5.1 points better than the second- and 12th-place teams.

The only team in NBA history that had a net rating over 12 for the entire season? The Chicago Bulls from 1995-96. Yes, those Bulls. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman are all Hall of Famers.

The Celtics are playing like the Warriors and Bulls of the past, but they aren't the peak-of-the-powers. It has a lot to do with Tatum ascending to borderline top-five status, or perennial All-NBA selection, or as you want to classify it, as the NBA's Most Valuable Player candidate.

He averaged 27.9 points, 4.9 assists and 3.2 threes, with a 61.6 true shooting percentage, over that same period.

There is no argument that anyone else has been the best player through three games. That is not just because of the numbers.

The defense behind Boston's dominance since Christmas is so connected that it seems telepathy. A key part on that end is Tatum.

He finished the season as the league leader in defensive win shares, a stat historically owned by centers and traditional power forwards, and each of the top 43 defensive win share seasons in NBA history belong to bigs.

He's averaged 3.3 stocks for the series after stealing six steals on Saturday. He is a big part of why KD is shooting 36.5 percent from the field.

In the mold of some of his superstars on the wing, Tatum has become a game-changer on both sides of the floor. Following Saturday's broadcast, Jeff Van Gundy said that he was the best player on a championship team.

You cannot win it all by yourself. Boston is playing like a superteam.

The defensive win shares the lead. Robert Williams III, Al Horford, Marcus Smart, and Jaylen Brown are all tied for 15th.

Brown has averaged over 20 points for the last three seasons. Williams is a rim runner who forces defense to collapse when he is the screener in pick-and-rolls. Horford is one of the smartest passing bigs. Smart averaged a career-high 5.9 assists.

They aren't backed up by the deepest bench in the league, but they have a good ball player in Derrick White who is tied for eighth in the NBA in defensive estimated plus-minus. Daniel Theis and Grant Williams have experience in the system. On Saturday, when he had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, he was able to take over two- or three-minute stretches. You don't need much more than that from a backup guard in the playoffs.

That is especially true with a starting five and first option.

The idea that you need a top 5-10 player to win a championship has been around for a long time. It is generally true. A single player can have a huge impact in a sport that only has 10 guys on the floor at a time. The kind of player who can be the best of the 10 in any series is now Tatum.