Celtics' Jayson Tatum Says He Has Chance to Become Face of NBA: 'It's Mine to Take'

In the wake of LeBron James acknowledging his career will come to an end sooner than later, there has been a lot of discussion about who will supplant him as the face of the NBA when he does retire.

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum told The Athletic's Jared Weiss there's a path for himself to take over that mantle.

"I feel like it's mine to take," he said. "I do feel like, if we win a championship, it would be more distinguished and clear. But I understand I'm in that shortlist for sure."

James acknowledged there are "not that many" years left in his career when asked about his future in Indianapolis during All-Star Weekend.

"I have not mapped out how many seasons I have left. I know it's not that many," James said.

This isn't a huge revelation from James, who is already the oldest active player in the league at 39 years old. He is one of six players in NBA history who has played at least 21 seasons.

Assuming James returns for the 2024-25 season, he will tie Vince Carter's record of 22 seasons played. His inevitable retirement does leave the NBA in a precarious position.

James has been the center of the league basically since the day he was drafted in 2003. He more than held up his end of the bargain after being anointed "The Chosen One" by Sports Illustrated in 2002.

There is no shortage of options for the NBA to pick from when it comes to marketing its future, but finding a player who will represent himself and the league as well as James has for two decades will be difficult.

Victor Wembanyama seems like the most obvious candidate to take up the mantle. He was deemed the best prospect to enter the league since James. The 20-year-old is having a historic rookie season.

Depending on how much longer James keeps playing, there might need to be a bridge for Wembanyama to claim the throne because the San Antonio Spurs are still very early in the process of building a team around him.

Tatum does have a built-in advantage as the best player on a Boston Celtics team that has been one of the best in the NBA basically since he was drafted in 2017. He's played in the Eastern Conference Finals four times and NBA Finals once in the past six seasons.

Already a five-time All-Star at the age of 25, Tatum is a strong MVP candidate this season. He's the leader of a Celtics team that has the NBA's best record (43-12) and net rating (plus-10.2).