Impressive Analysis: Who are the top ten athletes in Boston after Jayson Tatum?
The founding story for this list was straightforward: Who is number three? I was talking about Boston sports with a friend, and it was evident that Jayson Tatum and David Pastrnak were the finest two athletes on the city’s teams right now. But who came in third?
That was less clear. For the past two decades, Boston has been flooded with celebrity sportsmen such as Tom Brady, David Ortiz, Patrice Bergeron, Paul Pierce, Pedro Martinez, Zdeno Chara, Randy Moss, Kevin Garnett, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and others. Their photos may still be found in sports bars from Wellfleet to Williamstown. But who are the finest players on the same sports bars’ TVs?
I chose to rate the top ten and drew a few conclusions as a result. The Red Sox’s second-best player today may be whoever they sign in free agency, while the Patriots’ second-best player could be whoever they choose in the first round. This list may, and perhaps should, include five Celtics (though mine did not).
A few short methodology points:
My list is restricted to the four major pro leagues. If you want A.J. Dybantsa, Macklin Celebrini, Hilary Knight or Carlos Gil, make your own list and feel free to send it to me. But the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL are each a fully established league and the undisputed top circuits in their respective sports. The comparisons between those four are as close to apples-to-apples as possible.
For this, the term athlete is simply a person playing a professional sport not a measure of pure athletic ability. Tyquan Thornton is more athletic than Rafael Devers, but (spoiler alert) Devers will be on this list, Thornton will not.
I’m prepared to rewrite this with the addition of a Red Sox free agent signing right up to publication.
1. Jayson Tatum, Celtics wing
Tatum needs at least one title to truly be considered among the elite of Celtics greats. That’s a fact of life playing for that franchise. But he’s one of the best athletes in all of sports today and is still getting better.
2. David Pastrnak, Bruins forward
Pastrnak is as good a hockey player as Tatum is a basketball player or at least close to it. But an individual basketball star is more impactful than a hockey player which was how I split the hair. Pastrnak is tremendous and his skills are still on the rise.
3. Jaylen Brown, Celtics wing
Brown is the second-best player on his own club and third on this list, which reflects the Celtics’ current position in the area. Brown may be underappreciated by certain Bostonians who exaggerate his weaknesses while undervaluing his strengths. He’s an All-Star, a potential Olympian, and a significant reason the Celtics have legitimate championship prospects at this juncture in his career.
4. Rafael Devers, Red Sox third baseman
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My question with Devers is: Am I overrating him because he’s the best Red Sox player, a distinction we’re all used to meaning more than it currently does?
But while there is a perception that Devers had a down year, he still hit 33 home runs and was sixth in the American League in OPS at .851, despite not having the same lineup protection he’s had in other years. Maybe he should get dinged more for his defense, but he’d still be incredibly valuable even if he was a DH.
5. Matthew Judon, Patriots, Defensive end
It was tough to place Judon for several reasons. For starters, he’s hurt, but there’s no reason to believe he’s not going to respond at full strength. The other is the same as Devers. Am I overrating him because being the best player on the Patriots feels like it should carry more weight than it is right now? That said, he’s a very good player at a career peak and the Patriots are considerably better defensively when he’s playing.
6. Charlie McAvoy, Bruins defenseman
This might actually be too low. Anybody only looking at points is underrating McAvoy, who is one of the sport’s elite defensemen and a worthy successor to the Bruins franchise’s great history of blueliners. He plays huge minutes and can control the game.
7. Brad Marchand, Bruins forward
The Bruins captain is top-level scorer, an elite penalty killer and excellent in 5-on-5 scenarios. At 35, he’s still playing at a level that’s enhancing his candidacy for the Hockey Hall of Fame.
8. Jrue Holiday, Celtics guard
I went back and forth quite a bit on Holiday vs. Porzingis. It’s close. Holiday’s defense, his reliability and his ability to fill some of the gaps left by Marcus Smart eventually broke the tie.
9. Kristaps Porzingis, Celtics, forward
There’s going to be a playoff game, maybe more than one where Porzingis is the reason the Celtics win. At his ceiling, he is outstanding. Guys as tall as he is do tend to hurt more often and that’s what’s kept him from being truly dominant. But when he’s healthy, his ceiling is incredibly high and he could be what puts Boston over the top to win a title.
Before we get to No. 10
At this point, I considered expanding to 12 or 15, but I stuck to 10 because lists like this are supposed to be hard. But here are the challenges I battled with:
Should Derrick White be No. 10? That would put five Celtics on the list. That in itself isn’t a bad thing. But it’s always fair to wonder at least a little if the fifth guy looks better because opponents are focused on guys 1-4. Still White is valuable and if this list did get to 12, he’d be on it.
Justin Turner would have made this list if he was either signed for next year or even expected to come back. But nobody seems to really expect him to be in Boston going forward so I nixed him.
Christian Gonzalez was trending toward being on the list. It’s not clear who the second-best Patriot actually is. He looks like he’s going be terrific, but he wouldn’t be the first Patriot to be outstanding as a rookie and fizzle badly so his small sample made him easy to leave off for this year.
Linus Ullmark might have been the hardest call. He was the best goalie in the NHL last year, but I’m not convinced he’s better than Jeremy Swayman right now. I could rationalize putting both of them on.
10. Triston Casas, Red Sox first baseman
He gained his stride in the second half of the season. Casas hit 15 home runs and had an OPS of 1.034 with a slash line of.317/.417/.617 from July 14 to September 14. He’s a key player for the Red Sox today and in the future.
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