“Jayson Tatum Acknowledging His Dumba** Take”: JT’s Trainer Goes at Brandon Jennings for Calling Celtics Star ‘Soft’

Brandon Jennings started a fire on Gil’s Arena during a recent episode after he posed an interesting question, “Is [Jayson Tatum] the softest Boston Celtics superstar ever?” Gilbert Arenas pushed back on the idea that someone like Tatum can be considered ‘soft’ by any stretch of the imagination. But Jennings insisted that JT is soft if you put him against other Celtics superstars.

The discussion soon got heated as both sides refused to back down. It also gained a lot of traction on social media because of the compelling arguments made by both sides. Tatum’s trainer Drew Hanlen, however, wasn’t pleased with all the negative publicity around his client. He took a jab at Jennings for casting aspersions at a superstar like JT despite his own mediocrity on the hardwood.

“Brandon Jennings career highlights (updated): 1) 55 point game 2) High school career 3) [Jayson Tatum] acknowledging his dumba** take on Instagram,” Hanlen wrote on X. The popular NBA trainer suggested that the Celtics superstar’s acknowledgment on social media was one of the highlights of Jennings’s lackluster career.

 

Brandon Jennings career highlights (updated):

1) 55 point game
2) High school career
3) @jaytatum0 acknowledging his dumbass take on Instagram pic.twitter.com/9mZYmKyD6I

— Drew Hanlen (@DrewHanlen) January 9, 2025

After the Gil’s Arena clip started going viral, Tatum posted a collection of pictures and a few clips of his game highlights on Instagram with the caption, ““SoFtesT SuPeRstar in CeLtiC HiStoRy” “. It was pretty clear that JT was in no mood to beef with Gil’s Arena cast. But he still wanted to highlight the ridiculous nature of Jennings’s take.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0)

BJ basically argued during the segment on Gil’s Arena that, the Celtics have had a tough culture that has produced some hardcore superstars like Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce, among others. However, Tatum doesn’t fit the same description. He is nowhere as aggressive or as dominant as these breed of superstars from the past.

On the other hand, Jennings thought Jaylen Brown was more of a ‘tough superstar’ on the Celtics team than JT. “I’ll be more afraid of Jaylen Brown than Jayson Tatum,” he said. “If you so tough then why didn’t you get Finals MVP last year!”

However, Arenas pointed out that being soft-spoken and being soft are not the same thing. A lot of ‘laid-back’ stars like Tracy McGrady were a menace on the court. “Whoever saying he’s soft… that’s a soft ass 28ppg he’s averaging. Go on out there and get your head bust!” the three-time All-Star said.

 

BJ: “Is [Jayson Tatum] the softest Boston Celtics superstar ever?”

Gil: “Whoever saying he’s soft… that’s a soft ass 28ppg he’s averaging. Go on out there and get your head bust!”

Brandon Jennings gets the Arena to crash out over his Jayson Tatum take pic.twitter.com/bwuEleCRB4

— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) January 5, 2025

However, Jennings was still adamant about his ‘soft’ argument. He claimed that JT was only tallying big numbers because of the depth in the Boston Celtics roster. He seemed particularly flustered when Arenas said he’d much rather have Bill Russell, Kevin McHale, or Paul Pierce with the ball in crunch time as a defender than an elite scorer like Tatum.

In the end, both sides refused to concede their position.

It’s truly confusing how a talented player like Tatum can generate so much criticism as the reigning NBA Champion. The 26-year-old has over-achieved by a lot of different metrics in his NBA career. However, his accomplishments are still discounted regularly in NBA circles, which is also a reason why he has not fared well in MVP voting.