Jayson Tatum Believes He Can Beat Prime Carmelo Anthony In 1 On 1 Game

Tatum was clearly joking around, as he also asked Kiyan who would win between the two of them at the age of 17. But he does believe that he can take on one of the greatest scorers in NBA history at his absolute best, and win against him. Whether he is right or not is an entirely different matter.

Tatum has shown that he is a solid scorer across his career. In the seven seasons he has played in the NBA, Tatum has averaged 23.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. As for Carmelo Anthony, he averaged 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in the 19 seasons he played in the NBA.

Both Tatum and Melo have similar numbers. But it is important to remember that Anthony's numbers are a little bit lower because of the last few years of his career, where his scoring averages went down, whereas Tatum is yet to even hit his prime, and his downturn hasn't affected his numbers.

Jayson Tatum Continues To Make His Mark On The NBA

One aspect where Jayson Tatum recently surpassed Carmelo Anthony was the championship front. Tatum won the NBA championship with the Boston Celtics last month. Tatum finally achieved his biggest goal in the NBA, which was to win a championship.

After seven years in the NBA, Tatum was able to get it done. Since then, he has continued to make his mark on the NBA.

Recently, he was named as the cover athlete for NBA 2K25 along with A'ja Wilson, a prestige given to the elite players in the league who solidify themselves as big names and big draws for the league. The duo even commented on how they found out about getting the honor.

Tatum is on a career-high right now, and that will probably continue into the summer, as he represents Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He recently spoke about sharing the court with LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant, noting how surreal the experience was.

Tatum is looking to win his second Olympic gold medal in Paris. He and Team USA are considered the favorites to win the gold medal for the fifth consecutive installment of the tournament. Winning a gold medal in the same year as the Olympics will cap what has been an incredible year for Tatum.