My brother in-law and I often argue whether Booker or Tatum is better than another. It’s not the best argument because we’re both extremely biased, him being a Celtics and Duke fan and I’m a lifelong Suns fan. I also know it’s difficult to compare the two because they play different positions and roles on their respective teams.
That’s why I wanted to ask y’all, why is Tatum or Booker better than the other?
per 100 possessions booker is 43.6 8.1 12.7 on 51.3/45.2/92.3 shooting splits with 1.3 steals and .6 blocks. with an offensive rating of 130 and a defensive rating of 116
per 100 possessions Tatum is 36.8 11.8 5.4 on 49.9/36.5/81.2 shooting splits with 1.5 steals and .5 blocks. with an offensive rating of 118 and a defensive rating of 107
so yes tatum’s defense is better. but booker is on a whole other level offensively right now. and when you combine that with the playoffs last year when booker was way better than everyone in the league except jokic it becomes clear that booker is the better player as of now. the only person with more points per 100 better than booker is embiid and booker has a 4% better TS% and a 6% better eFG% than embiid. he’s also 5th in assists per 100. booker is not only the best SG in the league but he’s a top 3 PG in the league.
The only reason people think Tatum is better is narrative over their careers, Boston media mafia/east coast bias, 3 inches of height, and an improper understanding of how big the gap is between the 2 offensively and defensively. The offensive gap is way bigger than people think and the defensive gap is smaller than what people thing (though still a decent sized gap).