Tatum Awarded Inaugural Larry Bird Trophy

DURHAM, N.C. — Former Duke men’s basketball star Jayson Tatum has been awarded the inaugural Larry Bird Trophy, given to the most valuable player of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. Tatum led the Boston Celtics to a Game 7 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday night to advance to the first NBA Finals of his career.

The All-NBA First Team selection this season averaged 25.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists against the top-seeded Heat, including two 30-plus point performances in Games 4 and 6. In Sunday’s Game 7 at FTX Arena in Miami, Tatum stepped up with a team-high 26 points, 10 boards and six dimes in 46 minutes.

Tatum and the Celtics face the Western Conference Champion Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, which begin Thursday, June 2 at 9 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Among players with a minimum of 10 games played this postseason, Tatum ranks fourth in the league in scoring (27.0), 16th in rebounding (6.7) and ninth in assists (5.9). He has averaged 25.0+ points on .400+ shooting from the field in each of Boston’s three series.

He is aiming to become the seventh former Duke player to win an NBA Championship and would join Jeff Mullins (Golden State – 1975), Danny Ferry (San Antonio – 2003), Shane Battier (Miami – 2012 and 2013), Kyrie Irving (Cleveland – 2016), Dahntay Jones (Cleveland – 2016) and Quinn Cook (Golden State – 2018; L.A. Lakers – 2020).