Jayson Tatum had quite the eventful summer, from winning his first NBA championship to an Olympic Gold Medal with the USA, but the dialogue hasn’t been the most pleasant for him. His struggles in the Olympics raised question marks around his skill as a player, which the crew of Gil’s Arena further expanded on.
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Tatum rarely played during the USA’s Olympic journey in Paris, which created a negative discourse within the media. Former Knicks guard and co-host of the ‘Gil’s Arena’ podcast, Brandon Jennings was very critical of Tatum. Jennings said,
“Jayson Tatum, he might be cooked. The reason he feel like that is cause he didn’t get Eastern Conference Finals or Finals MVP, and his running mate is better than him. He’s probably feeling doubt like maybe I’m not that good.”
Jennings elaborated that although Tatum’s summer featured tremendous amounts of team success, that lack of individual accolades left a bitter taste in his mouth. The Celtics have treated Tatum as the team’s franchise cornerstone, but the reality is that Jaylen Brown has taken that spot, according to Jennings.
Tatum provided a quote following his Olympic stint, which fuelled this topic of discussion for the ‘Gil’s Arena’ podcast crew.
Jayson Tatum got honest about his 2024 Olympics experience winning Gold & the criticism he received:
“It was a lot. In the age of social media, you see everything. You see all the tweets and the people on the podcasts and people on TV giving their opinion on whether they… pic.twitter.com/kjVSugEMtC
— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) August 29, 2024
The former Duke product has been under the limelight since his sensational rookie season, taking LeBron James to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. The abundant amount of success he had before the championship somehow became a detriment to his career.
Although many in NBA circles on social media agree with Jennings’ statement, not all of his co-hosts sided with his bold take. Gilbert Arenas applauded Tatum for the sacrifices that were made during the Olympics. Arenas said,
“You say that everyone has to sacrifice for the greater good of whatever we’re trying to go for. Someone has to sacrifice. If he’s the sacrificial lamb, then why is his legacy even up for debate?… They won a gold, why are we still talking about legacies?”
Typically, following a championship run, the narratives are simply surrounding whether the team can repeat. However, the Celtics superstar is coming into the season with a chip on his shoulder, which may prove to be terrifying for the rest of the league.
