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Paul Pierce proclaimed Jayson Tatum as the best American player in the NBA after his performance in the Boston Celtics' 114-98 win on Sunday night. There might be a slight bias on Pierce's part, as he's a Celtics legend, but many agreed with his take online.
Tatum finished with 35 points, six rebounds and seven assists in the Celtics' win over the New York Knicks. He took over the fourth quarter, scoring 17 points and going 6-for-8 from the field, including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc.
That performance led Piece to tell his followers on X, formerly Twitter, the "truth":
"Tatum is the best American Basketball Player in the World."
While Paul Pierce is known for his hot takes, most NBA fans seemingly agreed with him this time.
Jayson Tatum might just be the best American player in the world today over players like Steph Curry, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Anthony Edwards.
One Celtics fan agreed with Pierce:
"Ain't that the Truth."
Another agreed with "The Truth":
"The Truth speaking the truth."
No lies were detected by another fan:
"No cap 🧢"
However, one Golden State Warriors fan did not buy what Paul Pierce is selling:
"Love Tatum, but he faced Steph in the finals & what happened? Steph 4-time champion & 2-time MVP. "This is complete lies, almost as bad as when you claimed you was better than D Wade! Still love the Truth but Tatum ain’t there yet! He’s got 3 guys averaging 20, Steph has himself & 0."
One fan went further and mentioned the next generation of American players coming for Jayson Tatum:
"Cooper Flagg, Cam Boozer, AJ Dybantsa comin' for him tho."
Jayson Tatum fueled by technical foul in 4th quarter
Jayson Tatum was called for his first technical foul of the season with less than five minutes left. The Boston Celtics were up by 12 points at that point, and the technical foul fueled Tatum to drop a 6-0 run to essentially put the Knicks away:
"I shouldn't have got the tech," Tatum said after the game. "I mean, it's tough. It's an emotional game, right?
"The fans can see it, everybody watching can see it. It's hard to play the game without emotions. I understand there’s a fine line and balance, but fourth quarter, we playing defense, and I screamed nothing crazy."
The Celtics have now won three straight games after two consecutive defeats last week. They have an upcoming four-game road trip against the Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets.
