NBA podcaster subtly jabs at LeBron James & Kevin Durant’s minutes eclipsing Jayson Tatum’s on Team USA
Bill Simmons took a jab at LeBron James and Kevin Durant for getting more playing time than Jayson Tatum on Team USA. He shared his take on the latest episode of his 'The Bill Simmons Podcast'.
One fan posted the segment on X where he criticized the Lakers and the Suns stars. In the video, Simmons can be heard explaining why he couldn't believe James is getting more minutes than Tatum and also discussed a possible threat to his playing time if Durant is healthy.
"The question for me is LeBron was a point-forward on an eight seed that won one playoff game, Tatum was basically the point forward on a team that went 81-20 and easily won the playoffs. Are we sure we should be marginalizing Tatum like this?" Simmons said.
He argued that Tatum is a better point-forward overall based on the fact that he was on the Boston Celtics that went on to win the 2024 NBA title. Simmons then discussed the idea of playing the 26-year-old on the corners while adding that he is 'not a good 3-point shooter."
"I'm not sure Tatum is the stand on the side guy 'cause is not a good 3-point shooter, so KD I think is gonna get those minutes... if he is healthy."
While Jayson Tatum is not Team USA's first priority on offense, he is still expected to provide a huge impact when it matters the most even if he comes off the bench.
NBA fans react to Bill Simmons' take on LeBron James & Kevin Durant getting more minutes than Jayson Tatum
Bill Simmon's take was not well received in the NBA community. Fans took to the comments section to share their thoughts about his take. One fan warned others to take Simmons' opinions with some reservation as he is a big Celtics fan.
"Why are you surprised? This is one of the biggest Celtic fans as well as Laker haters of all time (me being just the opposite, but that is better.) Bill Simmons finds ways to insult the Lakers when there is no reason to. You have to take anything he says with a grain of salt because his agenda is to always belittle the Lakers."
Others joined in and criticized the podcaster's take on the matter.
"He’s the ultimate Celtics fan. I don’t expect anything different from him," @jck_w said.
"It’s great how he can call that Celtics team one of the best starting 5’s ever, but then evaluate Tatum/Lebron as if their supporting casts were comparable. Just incredible stuff lol," @Dennis_Ramen said.
"LMAO literally just heard this myself and cackled," @TannerLikesStuf said.
While some fans criticized the podcast's hosts, others trolled Jayson Tatum in the comments.
"Tatum could quite literally be the water boy and we would not bat an eye," @Dhabitat_ said.
"Tatum wasn't even the best player on HIS team lol in the playoffs."
Jayson Tatum, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant will all face the Nikola Jokic-led Serbian team in their first matchup at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.