Jayson Tatum has kicked off the 2024-25 NBA season with the goal of proving any and all remaining doubters wrong. Tatum has been near the top of the MVP ladder so far this season, with a 12-3 Boston Celtics squad. Even so, the narrative around him has still been one filled with seeds of doubt. Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas feels this is unfair to the reigning NBA champion.
Gilbert Arenas was joined by WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes on the latest episode of his ‘Gil’s Arena’ podcast. As they discussed Jayson Tatum’s MVP case, Arenas brought up the ‘hypocritical’ narrative that has shrouded the Celtics star’s career so far.
I feel bad for this generation and the generations moving forward. The reason is this: you penalize someone for getting somewhere and failing, but the guy who didn’t get there, there was no grade on him. [Tatum] gets to the finals twice, they penalize him for losing. And then you pump a bunch of guys up who have never been there.
Gilbert Arenas said on the podcast
“[Tatum] gets to the finals twice, they penalize him for losing. And then you pump a bunch of guys up who have never been there.”
Gil believes Jayson Tatum deserves to be in the MVP conversation. pic.twitter.com/7P4wzS4tZ2
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) November 20, 2024
Gilbert Arenas came to the defense of Jayson Tatum, who faced much alignment for his previous failures to win an NBA championship. However, as he rightly pointed out, Tatum’s journey towards success in the NBA started much earlier than most young stars. Tatum reached the Eastern Conference finals in just his rookie season and has been a constant threat during the playoffs ever since.
He made his first NBA Finals appearance in 2022 as a 24-year-old, relatively young in NBA terms. Even with this success in his resume, his failure to win a championship often shunned him from the media’s eyes. Rather hypocritically, as Arenas pointed out, other young stars in the league received greater recognition even though their playoff resumes paled in front of Tatum’s.
‘Disowned’ Celtics star apologizes to Jayson Tatum
Gilbert Arenas has held his stance about mainstream media being biased against Jayson Tatum for quite some time. However, things might be turning for the better, as former ‘disowned’ Celtics champion Kendrick Perkins issued a public apology for doubting Tatum’s MVP caliber.
Jayson Tatum, I apologize because we should mention your name more often when it comes down to the three letters of MVP. We talk about everybody else, but we don’t talk about this man who, constantly night in and night out, is flirting with 30-point triple-doubles.
Kendrick Perkins said on Wednesday’s NBA Today show
Perkins mentioned his failure to bring up Jayson Tatum amidst MVP conversations more often. The Celtics star has had a phenomenal start to the season, leading his team in points, assists and rebounds. Only the reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic, has been able to achieve these statistical feats so far this season.
After their big win over the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, Tatum’s figures this season are up to 29.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.9 assists for the season. Safe to say, he deserves every ounce of recognition to possibly earn MVP honors during a career year.
