NBA
Even after NBA title, Skip Bayless still has his doubts about Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum has been no stranger to criticism over the years, especially after a pair of crushing postseason exits in 2022 and 2023.
Granted, some of that chatter quieted down this spring — especially after Tatum and the Celtics finally got over the hump and won a record-breaking 18th championship.
Tatum himself expressed relief on Monday about the validation finally granted by winning a championship.
“You know, just being the topic of discussion of so many debates or whatever it is. ‘Can he lead a team? Is he a top-five player?’ ” Tatum told The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. “There’s still a lot of things I guess they can debate, but I’ve done some things they can’t debate. I won a championship.
“I did it at the highest level. So having that under my belt, like, obviously there’s still conversations to be had or whatever people want to say, but they’ve always got to refer to me as an NBA champion.”
Tatum’s resume might speak for itself at this point. But that still hasn’t hindered longtime sports contrarian Skip Bayless to take umbrage with Tatum’s standing among the NBA’s greats.
Harkening back to a debate brewed up amid the 2024 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Mavericks, Bayless argued that Tatum is still not even the best player on the Celtics’ roster.
“Jayson Tatum is really, really good. There’s no doubt about that, and he is undoubtedly a champion forever,” Bayless said on FS1’s “Undisputed” on Tuesday. “And it will never be taken from him. I’ve sat in this seat and first guessed this for three years, ‘I’m sorry, he’s not the best player on his own team.’ He’s just not. I root against them (Boston) and I pick against them. I watch and the guy who terrorizes me, who makes me sweat watching the game is always the other guy (Jaylen Brown).