In what feels like the first time in weeks, we saw Jayson Tatum pictured WITHOUT the Larry O’Brien trophy. That’s right, the Boston Celtics star left the franchise’s 18th piece of championship hardware at home.
He did, however, arrive with a new/old look. Tatum ditched his signature curls before heading to Las Vegas for Team USA training camp and showed off his fresh cut Monday morning.
https://t.co/RCSCjqC6wW pic.twitter.com/GrlxIx7oLD
— NBA (@NBA) July 8, 2024
Now, this isn’t an entirely new look. Sure, JT has had the curls for the past four seasons, debuting the haircut in the 2020-21 season. But, prior to that, he was running with the tighter look.
There isn’t a ton of science that goes into the equation, but you might be able to hold out some hope that Tatum’s three-point shot levels up with the short cut.
In the three seasons in which he wore that hairstyle, he shot 43.4%, 37.3%, and 40.3% from beyond the arc. Over the past four years where he’d grown out the curls, the efficiency wasn’t quite the same. Tatum knocked down 38.6%, 35.3%, 35.0%, and 37.6% of his attempts from distance.
With that being said, there’s no doubt that he played his best ball during the curls era. In that time, the St. Louis native was named to four All-Star teams, three All-NBA First Teams, made three Eastern Conference Finals, two NBA Finals, and managed to win his only NBA Championship.
He also tied the franchise-record for points in a single game, scoring 60 in an April 2021 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Which do you prefer, curly-haired JT, or short haired?
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