Jayson Tatum passes Larry Bird for greatest NBA playoff record, originally published on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON — Jayson Tatum, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan.
Those are the new top three playoff point totals over the first seven seasons of an NBA career. Tatum passed Jordan in the 2024 playoffs with the Boston Celtics and surpassed Bird in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. He needed just six points to accomplish the feat on Thursday night, but finished the night with 23 points in Boston's 126-110 win.
The rest of the top 10 isn't bad either, so take a look at the elite group Tatum currently leads in the chart below.
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Tatum, 26, has made the playoffs in each of his first seven seasons. Since being selected third overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, the five-time All-Star has led the Celtics to five Eastern Conference finals appearances, including another appearance in the 2022 NBA Finals.
The Celtics need two more wins to advance to the Finals, and they started their series against the Indiana Pacers at TD Garden with a thrilling overtime win in which Tatum scored a game-high 36 points, 10 of which came in overtime.
