Bradley Beal admits Jayson Tatum will be ‘one thousand times better than me'

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If any one player in the NBA understands Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum's true potential, it's Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal.

Beal and Tatum are very close and have known each other a long time. Both of them are from St. Louis area and went to the same high school.

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Tatum has been playing at a superstar level over the last five weeks. He averaged 30.5 points per game and shot nearly 50 percent from 3-point range in February, earning him Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors. Included in Tatum's historic February was his first NBA All-Star Game appearance and amazing performances against the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.

Beal is an All-Star caliber player in his own right, but he's not afraid to admit that Tatum's ceiling is even higher.

“Every year, he’s gonna add something that’s gonna surprise people. But whatever it is, it’ll make sense,” Beal told Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer. “When it’s all said and done, he’ll be one thousand times better than me.”

The Celtics, thanks in large part to Tatum's emergence as a top 15 player, are legitimate title contenders as the playoffs approach. They likely will be one of the top three seeds in the East, and perhaps the team best-equipped to upset the Milwaukee Bucks on the road to the NBA Finals.

Tatum can't bring the Celtics to the NBA Finals by himself, but if he continues to play at a superstar level for the remainder of the season, Boston is going to be among the toughest teams to eliminate from the playoffs.

Blakely: Tatum does his thing with a surprise scoring sidekick

Don't miss NBC Sports Boston's coverage of Celtics-Jazz, which begins Friday at 7 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live, followed by tip-off at 8 p.m. You can also stream on the MyTeams App.

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