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When the 2017 NBA Summer League kicked off, one of the most enticing matchups of the Utah Summer League featured two of the top picks in the draft going head to head. This was Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum against Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz.
While the game featured plenty of back and forth and both players impressed at times, it was the former Duke star in Tatum who wound up getting the last laugh. As you can see in the video posted by Rob Perez, Tatum hit up what wound up as a game-winning jumper with 5.7 seconds remaining.
After the impressive shot by Tatum, Fultz got his opportunity on the other end with a reverse dunk, but Jaylen Brown wasn’t having any of it.
In the end, the first of many hopefully great matchups between Tatum and Fultz wound up being a pretty awesome game. Here’s a look at the stat lines for the two players:
- Jayson Tatum: 33 minutes, 21 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists
- Markelle Fultz: 22 minutes, 17 points, three blocks, two rebounds, one steal and one assist
As you can see, Tatum wound up getting more run than Fultz did in this game, as the 76ers don’t seem overly interested in pushing it with their young playmaker. Aside from the two rookies, Boston’s second-year player in Brown was exceptionally impressive, tallying 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting (62.5 percent), with 13 rebounds.
Tatum looks like the real deal for the Celtics, and although it’s unlikely that he’ll get a ton of run early on in his career, there’s a lot to like about what he brings to the table. During his lone season with the Duke Blue Devils, Tatum averaged 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game over 3.3 minutes. He also shot an impressive 45.2 percent from the field and 84.9 percent from the free throw line.
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WATCH: Jayson Tatum Drains Game-Winner in Summer League Debut