"I Think The Jayson Tatum Hate Is Unwarranted And He's An Elite Player In Our League" - Tyrese Haliburton Makes A Great Point About How People Are Still Way Too Weird When It Comes To Jayson Tatum

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Every once in a while, it's nice to get a reminder that the internet/talking head shows are not real life. This can be true in all facets of life, but specifically when it comes to NBA discourse. There's reality, and then there's what goes on in both of those places. It's by design of course, but the discourse around the game of basketball is easily the biggest obstacle the league faces. 

While there are many examples of this, the best might just be Jayson Tatum. There may not be a bigger disconnect between how he's talked about/viewed/etc in those platforms compared to what actually goes on in reality from the people who actually work/are involved in the NBA.

You would think all this bullshit would be done for good after he had one of the best runs to a title in NBA history, but we all saw what happened. The narrative was that he was "carried" by his team despite ya know, leading the Celts in points, rebounds, and assists, something only 5 other players in NBA history have done. He dropped 30/10 in a road win in CLE, and Perk went on TV saying that was awful and he should have had 50. You then got all the "corny" "he's actually not that good" bullshit that was only encouraged by what happened in the Olympics. 

Opposing fanbases who are clearly very upset their favorite team keeps getting dismantled by Tatum will be quick to tell you he's not even a Top 5 player, despite being an All NBA 1st team guy 3 straight seasons (soon to be 4). You hear that he can't be the face of the NBA because he's….a good person? Because he doesn't have "aura"? It's all pretty bizarre and definitely very nauseating. For some reason, people just cannot stop being weird when it comes to Jayson Tatum.

When you see how opposing coaches guard him, where they are willing to let anyone other than Tatum beat them to the point where they are trapping him the second he crosses half court in random regular season games, that should pretty much tell you all you need to know. When coaches are saying stuff like this after witnessing another Tatum masterclass

it helps remind you that again, NBA Twitter is not real life. 

When it comes to the random hate that Tatum gets, there has been a slight shift where a lot of people are starting to address and accept that it's all so forced and very lame. It's probably born out of jealousy, something that happens with pretty much every caliber of player that has accomplished as much as Tatum has, and at this point it's pretty obvious that if you want engagement, just mention Tatum's name in a negative light. He's a needle mover.

You may not think this is a thing, but when we also have current and former players talking about how insane it is, it's hard to suggest Celts fans are just making all of this up

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That last point from Hali is what makes this whole thing so weird. Tatum is stamped by the legends of the game. Pretty much every single person associated with the game of basketball is able to tell the truth when it comes to Tatum. They understand what a problem he is to stop and that NBA basketball games are not played through Twitter narratives. Again, this is the type of player we're talking about here

and yet fans get all bent out of shape when he sticks up for himself when asked a question about his public perception/Face of the NBA/MVP candidacy etc. But then if he says nothing, he doesn't have that "dog in him" or "aura". It's all so lame.

If we're being honest, a lot of the Tatum discourse revolves around people doing their best to pretend that his entire career doesn't exist. Part of that is probably anti-Celtics hate which is fine, but for some reason there's still an unwillingness to accept what we are witnessing when it comes to what Tatum has accomplished at just 27 years old. It's very much NOT normal. 

As annoying as it might be, what we're seeing now is probably how things are going to go his entire career. Players, coaches, non-hot take artists will be rational and truthful about him and who he is as a player and be vocal about how weird it is that he gets the level of hate that he does, and NBA Twitter and butthurt opposing fanbases will continue to be weird about him. 

When it's all said and done, we're talking about a player that's going to have 10+ All Stars, 10+ All NBAs, potentially more than 1 title, and the counting stats that are going to have him among the greats all while having zero drama off the court. 

So like Hali says, it's a bit confusing as to why he gets this level of hate, but at the end of the day that's the price you pay for greatness.