For years, the NBA was dominated by LeBron James and Stephen Curry. But a new generation of stars is now looking to take over, and Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum is one of them.
The 26-year-old finally got over the hump with memorable performances in the 2023-24 NBA season, helping the franchise win a historic 18th championship to claim the first ring in his career.
Tatum now joins special territory of stars who know what is like to reach the promised land, and while matching the number of titles won by LeBron or Curry might be a challenging task, the truth is both James and Steph also had to wait to win their first championships.
LeBron James’ NBA championships at Jayson Tatum’s age
LeBron James may have three more titles than Tatum, but it took The King longer to win his first ring. LeBron didn’t win an NBA championship until 27, so he was still ringless at Tatum’s age.
After failing to succeed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, James took his talents to South Florida in 2010 to build a big three next to Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh at the Miami Heat.
LeBron almost won his first ring in his first year in South Beach at 26, but lost to Dirk Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals. Only a year later, the Heat redeemed themselves by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games. James won another ring in Miami the following year, before leading the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers to success.
- 2012 (Miami Heat) – 27 years old
- 2013 (Miami Heat) – 28 years old
- 2016 (Cleveland Cavaliers) – 31 years old
- 2020 (Los Angeles Lakers) – 35 years old
Stephen Curry’s NBA championships at Jayson Tatum’s age
Stephen Curry may also boast three more NBA championships than Tatum, but he only had one title at the Celtics star’s age. Just like Jayson, Steph won his first title at 26 years old. Eventually, Curry would continue to find success with the Golden State Warriors, becoming the face of one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history.
- 2015 – 26 years old
- 2017 – 28 years old
- 2018 – 29 years old
- 2022 – 33 years old