Jayson Tatum Will Not Play in 2018 NBA Summer League

The Boston Celtics will not have Jayson Tatum endure another Summer League sweat, Celtics president Danny Ainge told Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald on Wednesday.

“We knew it about 50 games into the season [that Tatum wasn't going to play in the Summer League],” Ainge said. “But look at it — he just played in [99] games. I think it would be crazy to put him into the summer league.”

This is a definite change for the norm under Brad Stevens-coached Celtics youngsters, as almost all of them have participated in multiple Summer League runs.

But this decision comes after Tatum proved he was a step above the competition during last year's summertime run with the C's.

The 20-year-old Tatum averaged 18.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest during his time between Utah and Vegas during last year's Summer League slate, while shooting a combined 41-for-92 (a 44.6 field goal percentage) over that span, en route to being named to the All-NBA Summer League Second Team.

Tatum's workload, which saw him play in over 3,000 regular-season minutes and then finish second in total minutes during the Celtics' 19-game playoff run, also played a factor in the C's decision to give Tatum some time away from game action.

“We’ll have plenty of people to see play this summer,” Ainge told Murphy. “We need Jayson just to work on what we’ve talked to him about.”

The No. 3 overall pick from 2017, Tatum truly wowed in the postseason, and averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game, while shooting 49.5 percent from the field in the C's seven-game, third-round series loss to the Cavaliers.