Jayson Tatum's Ascension Into Becoming The Next Face Of The NBA Is Fully Underway

Jesse D. Garrabrant. Getty Images.

I know it doesn't exactly feel that way right now, but at some point in the near future, there's going to be a changing of the guard in the NBA. LeBron, KD, Steph, CP3 etc can't play forever (I think), the Giannis, Embiid's and Jokic's of the world will be on the other side of 30 before we know it, which means the baton is going to have to be passed to the younger generation to carry the torch as the next face of the NBA. 

When looking at potential candidates, it's hard to argue against someone like Jayson Tatum being that guy. It's hard to find a player with his type of resume despite being just 25, he plays for a big market team that routinely finds themselves in title contention ever since he stepped foot on the floor, there's virtually zero off the court drama with him, he's marketable, the list goes on and on. 

While things had already been trending this way these last few years, at this point it's becoming undeniable. Everyone knows once you get the nod to be the focus of "This Is Sportscenter" commercials, you've truly reached a different level

We'll see what other young stars might get this same treatment, but make no mistake. There's a reason Jayson Tatum went first over other candidates like Luka. The agenda push is strong, especially ahead of a season in which the Celts are projected to once again be title contenders and Tatum to make a leap into legit MVP consideration.

Think of the last time we saw a Celtic in one of these commercials. It was 2007-08 when guess who else was the face of the NBA? That's right

I am begging that we're going to get a recreation of this at some point. That feels like the biggest no brainer of all time, especially now with the Celts new superteam. They do need a nickname after all, so I'm holding out hope another version of this is up next to be released. 

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It goes without saying we should all remember what also happened once we saw the Celts in this commercial series. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I can't sit here and tell you it's not immediately what my brain went to. 

Honestly, I'll never get tired of these commercials no matter who is in them. They were always one of the best parts of the old school ESPN/Sportscenter, back when that shit was worth watching. I don't know about anyone else, but I basically only turn on ESPN to watch PTI, whatever game is on, and then the SVP Sportscenter late night because he's the GOAT. Outside of that, I'm not really that interested. But one thing I will always enjoy is the This Is Sportscenter commercial. They're all just so good

It's impossible to pick a favorite really. So while the rest of the programming might stink nowadays, it's good to see that ESPN hasn't lost their touch when it comes to this iconic commercial.