NBA coaches, execs ranked Ben Simmons, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, and De’Aaron Fox
In an ESPN survey, coaches and executives appeared divided on where Tatum's potential in the NBA lies.
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The Sixers’ Ben Simmons won the NBA’s 2018 Rookie of the Year award over the Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell and Boston’s Jayson Tatum.
When Tatum and Simmons met in the Eastern Conference semifinals last spring, Tatum scored 23.6 points per game alongside 3.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, while Simmons averaged 14.4/8.2/6.4.
On Wednesday, ESPN released the results of a new survey that asked 18 NBA executives and coaches the following question:
“Given the choice, how would you rank Simmons, Mitchell, Tatum and De’Aaron Fox moving forward?”
In a 4-3-2-1 points scale from first to fourth, Tatum earned 43 points for third place behind Mitchell (48) and Simmons (55) for best in the group. Fox earned 34 points.
While ESPN NBA writer Tim Bontemps wrote that one NBA executive said Tatum is the most well-rounded player of the four, a seemingly-inconclusive debate appeared rooted in where Tatum’s overall potential lies.
Bontemps wrote that some do not see Tatum as a leader on an NBA Finals-winning team and that some speculate he has even already reached his peak. One executive reportedly called Tatum a “complementary player,” while another compared him to Carmelo Anthony as a player who needs the ball to be effective.
“Still, others said Tatum’s situation — playing on a Celtics roster featuring an egalitarian system under Brad Stevens, with a proven scorer and closer alongside him in Irving — makes his future the most difficult to gauge among these players,” wrote Bontemps.
Tatum has scored 13.9 points per game this season alongside five rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
