On Wednesday, 'The Ringer' ranked Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum as the No. 13 player in the NBA. Also on Wednesday, FOX Sports Radio host Colin Cowherd said he had no problem with the ranking, citing multiple examples of why he thinks Tatum isn't a Top 10 or Top 5 player in the sport.

"Tatum's just really talented. There are times he doesn't lead, he doesn't initiate, and way too often he doesn't close!"

Those are fairly pointed comments Cowherd, so let's examine a little deeper to determine if he's actually right.

Tatum has been in the league for nine years, but this comment by Cowherd seems a little off base.

As Tatum came into the league, the Celtics were led by Isaiah Thomas, and then the Celtics traded for Kyrie Irving and brought in Gordon Hayward - two other veterans. 

Al Horford and Kemba Walker have had their turns at being team leaders - and highly-paid players, as has Jrue Holiday. The bottom line is this: Tatum has never been the senior member of this roster, so he's never really had to be the leader. There have been other veteran players on this team that have been paid lots of money and been thrust into the leadership position.

The Celtics traded Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis before the 2024-25 season, and Tatum had his first real chance to be the leader in that season. Tatum did lead the group to a 61-21 record and a No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Yes, they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals, but Tatum tore his Achilles. 

Tatum only played 16 games this past season as a result, so once again, he wasn't really in a leadership position.

Cowherd is basically saying that Tatum isn't the leader of the offense enough, and while that's fair, the same point as above stands.

For most of Tatum's time in the league, he's played with ball-dominant guard or a true point guard who was designed to be the initiator of the offense. Thomas, Irving, Walker, and Holiday are all players who fit that bill, meaning that once again, Tatum didn't have to be the initiator until the 2024-25 season. And again, the Celtics went 61-21, meaning he did a pretty solid job at it.

This one is a more fair critique, but unfortunately, it extends to the Celtics organization in general. Boston has been a jumpshooting-first team for years, which means that the team is prone to settling for jump shots rather than attacking the rim in the same way that someone like Jalen Brunson does.

Is that a Tatum-specific trait or just something he's adopted as a result of playing in that kind of style?

That seems like the kind of question that Joe Mazzulla and Brad Stevens need to figure out as they build this roster moving forward.

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