NBA GMs put Jayson Tatum ahead of LeBron James as best SF despite contrasting Team USA roles

Last season, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the Boston Celtics to their first championship since 2008. Then, during the summer, Tatum was the subject of widespread conversations as fans and analysts questioned coach Steve Kerr's decision to play Tatum in a minimal role with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

While Tatum took a backseat to the trio of LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, GMs around the league voted Tatum as the best small forward in the NBA by a pretty wide margin ahead of the start of the 2024-25 NBA season.

Much like last season, where Tatum received 47% of GM votes, the Celtics star received 47% of votes, with Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant and LeBron James all tying for second place with 17% of votes.

In other words, this means that 14 of 30 NBA GMs believe that Jayson Tatum is the best small forward in the league, compared to just five who believe LeBron James is the best.

Interestingly enough, leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympics, a poll of players on Team USA named LeBron James the best player on the team, creating quite a contrast between how GMs view James compared to how his peers view him.

Jayson Tatum entering 2024-25 season with a new jump shot after offseason tweaks

Last season, Jayson Tatum shot 47.1% from the field in the regular season, his most efficient year since his rookie season. He also shot 37.6% from downtown, a figure consistent with his career average.

During the postseason, however, Tatum saw his averages plummet as he shot 42.7% from the field and just 28.3% from downtown, the lowest playoff 3-point percentage of his career.

The decline resulted in Jayson Tatum and his trainer, Drew Hanlen, making some tweaks to his jump shot this offseason. Following Tatum and the Celtics' second preseason game against the Denver Nuggets in Abu Dhabi last week, Tatum spoke to media members about his offseason.

While doing so, the reigning NBA champion explained that he and Hanlen worked to refine his jump shot:

“Me and my trainer, Drew, we work out a lot. There are some things that he saw, mechanically, that I could focus on. Leaning forward. Keeping my shoulder forward and things like that. Quicker release. Just watched a lot of film and trying to improve and get better than I was last season.

“Just after every season, you look back and reflect on things that you could get better at. ... Just a reflection of looking back at what happened last season and going into next season, what can I get better at and work on. Just being more efficient from 3 was at the top of the list.”

Ahead of the start of the 2024-25 NBA season, Tatum and the Boston Celtics are sitting as heavy-betting favorites to win it all and go back-to-back as NBA champions.

With an improved jump shot, if Tatum is able to perform more efficiently than he did last season, the Celtics' odds of going back-to-back as NBA champs will likely get even better.