Jayson Tatum Passes Kobe Bryant On Playoff Leaderboard In Celtics' Game 1 Win originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Jayson Tatum moved ahead of his idol during a sensational start to the 2025-26 postseason.
Less than a year removed from his devastating Achilles tear, Tatum steered the Boston Celtics to a 123-91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. The star forward continued an expedited return to peak form by registering 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to open the first-round playoff series.
In the second quarter, Tatum extended Boston's lead to 23 by making his only three-pointer of the game. With that bucket, the NBA noted that Tatum passed Kobe Bryant for 11th on the all-time leaderboard in playoff threes.
TATUM PASSES KOBE ๐With this three, Jayson Tatum passes Kobe Bryant for 11th on the all-time playoff 3-POINTERS MADE list! pic.twitter.com/0tV3Cf6oW8
Tatum broke a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers legend by draining his 293rd career postseason triple. He's now one behind matching J.R. Smith for 10th and 22 behind Danny Green, but Stephen Curry laps the field at 650.
That wasn't the only impressive milestone Tatum reached on Sunday. Taylor Snow noted that Tatum became the seventh player in Celtics history to secure 1,000 career postseason rebounds.
According to StatMuse, Tatum has the fifth-most playoff games with at least 25 points among Eastern Conference players behind LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Dwyane Wade.
After the game, Tatum told ESPN's Jorge Sedano that it was an "incredible feeling" to play postseason basketball after not knowing if he would return at all this season.
Today was probably the most excited and relaxed and grateful I've been in my nine years of being in the playoffs," Tatum said. "I'm just super happy to be able to be out here and play."
More NBA: Celtics Start Playoffs With Emphatic Game 1 Win Over 76ers