"Jayson Tatum slander is crazy" : NBA analyst slammed by Celtics fans for snubbing him from Top 5 players list
Boston Celtics’ star Jayson Tatum will enter his second NBA finals after leading the green and white squad throughout the playoffs. Despite not winning the Eastern Conference finals MVP, Tatum has been the top star of a stacked squad full of veteran players.
However, in ESPN’s "Get Up" show, analyst Zach Lowe provided input on Jayson Tatum’s stance in the NBA echelon right now, putting him outside of the Top 5 rankings of the best player in the league.
“The top four players in the league when everyone is healthy undisputedly are Luka, Giannis, Jokic, and Embiid in some order. This year, it’s SGA if you just look up the MVP ballot and the first-team all-NBA voting,” said Lowe. “That’s five. We’re out of five players. That’s it, that’s the top five. Tatum is somewhere six, seven, eight, depending on your mileage with some of the other superstars in the league.” (0:06 - 0:24)
Lowe cited the lack of competition the Celitcs face on their way to the finals as Tatum and Co. did not face Joel Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers or Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks. For this reason, Lowe is worried about the Celtics’ chances versus the healthy Dallas Mavericks led by Luka Doncic for the NBA championship
“The point is, for the first time in the playoffs, after not seeing Giannis, not seeing Embiid, are entering a series with the best player in the series…Luka is the best guy.” (0:26 - 0:48)
Seeing those statements on national TV, Boston fans reacted in defense of their superstar.
"Tatum slander is crazy lol," a fan said, quoting the aforementioned clip.
"jayson tatum is the first player of all time to be disrespected while leading his team to the nba finals," another fan commented.
"Not a single person building a team would take Embiid over Tatum. The “Process” hasn’t even gotten out of the 2nd round. I hate Boston sports with my whole SoCal soul and I would take Tatum" one fan said.
Some fans even went as far as questioning Lowe’s logic and his credibility at his job.
"How is an All-NBA player 3 years in a row not top 5? Isn’t All-NBA first team the 5 best players in the league?" a fan penned.
“At least try to act like you’re an analyst.” one fan said.
“Zach Lowe isn't a top 5 sportswriter” a fan commented.
Jayson Tatum raring to prove himself once more on the biggest stage
As mentioned, Tatum has been in the NBA finals before, losing in 2022 to the Golden State Warriors. Unlike in 2022, the Celtics hold the homecourt advantage against the Mavericks, who have beaten all their opponents despite having it.
In an ABC News report, Tatum opened up about this year’s finals series and its significance for his career.
"Obviously, we've been there before, we came up short. And a great opportunity to make it to the Finals again," he said. "You don't always get a second chance, so really just looking at it as a second chance and trying to simplify things as much as we can."
Tatum has averaged 26.0 points and 10.4 rebounds in the playoffs so far.