The NBA is recognizing Jayson Tatum for an excellent rookie season.
The third overall pick in last year's draft, Tatum was named Tuesday to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Tatum started all 80 regular season games in which he appeared in his rookie year, averaging 13.9 points, 5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and a steal per game. He finished with a higher scoring average than any Celtics rookie since Paul Pierce.
The playoffs began just a month and a half after Tatum's 20th birthday, but he has continued to take charge, leading the Celtics with 18 points per game while contributing 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals. His scoring has helped take a Boston team without Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward deep into the Eastern Conference Finals.
Kyle Kuzma of the Lakers, Lauri Markkanen of the Bulls, Donovan Mitchell of the Jazz and Ben Simmons of the 76ers also received First Team honors.
A year earlier, Jaylen Brown, picked third overall by the Celtics in 2016, was named to the All-Rookie Second Team.