The Boston Celtics will win the 2025 NBA title if star forward Jayson Tatum keeps playing the way he has been heading into the stretch run of the 2024-25 regular season. Or at least that is the position being taken by former Boston big man and current Celtics broadcaster Brian Scalabrine.

It's a compelling thought experiment that would flatter Tatum's body of work, which already gives him a 62% shot at the Hall of Fame by Basketball Reference's metrics (a larger number than, for instance, Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic).

The Boston Celtics star is often discounted in discussions about the league’s best young players, so his résumé will have to speak for itself.

Despite missing nearly half of their core rotation, the Celtics dispatched the Raptors on the road for their sixth straight win.

TORONTO — Jaylen Brown scored 24 points, Derrick White had 22 and the Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to six games by beating the Toronto Raptors 111-101 on Tuesday night. Payton Pritchard scored 20 points and Jayson Tatum had 19 points and 11 assists as the Celtics improved to 24-6 on the road.

The Celtics appear to have found a second gear of late, entering Tuesday’s matchup in Toronto having won nine of 10.