Jayson Tatum has just won his first NBA title and then added his second Olympics gold medal. In the aftermath of that, he signed the richest contract in NBA history, all after just turning 26 years old. However, according to Bleacher Report, he isn’t as influential as WNBA star Angel Reese.
Bleacher Report compiled a list of athletes called ‘Predicting the 25 Best Athletes of the Next 25 Years’. In that list, they placed Jayson Tatum at no. 24. However, they ranked Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese one position higher at no. 23.
At first glance it would seem like a travesty considering Tatum is four-time All-NBA teamer and was in the top 5 of the league’s MVP race along with his NBA title. In contrast, Reese only has her exploits as the WNBA’s top rebounder until her season ending injury to show for. However, they mentioned this logic to justify Tatum’s rank.
He led the Celtics to the NBA title last year before a controversial run with Team USA in the Olympics spent largely watching from the bench. However, his time will come to be one of the faces of the sport, as the torch gets passed by LeBron James, Steph Curry and others.
Bleacher Report wrote
As per this logic, Bleacher Report believes he has not cracked the mold yet. Therefore, it could be that once he does become part of the new Faces of the NBA, he could move up the list. But then, they ranked possible Face of the NBA Anthony Edwards and teen sensation Cooper Flagg 4th and 5th on the list.
Fans burn the internet at Jayson Tatum’s low ranking
The problem fans had with this list was that they felt the logic’s presented did not make sense. Their questions were mostly around why a player as accomplished as Jayson Tatum was ranked that low. They also couldn’t wrap around the fact that they ranked Edwards above the likes of soccer superstar Kylian Mbappe and the NFL’s best player Patrick Mahomes.
One logic could be that the list was based on popularity. But since it was not mentioned as a logic, fans wasted no time in slamming the list. Check out examples of those comments below.
AR above Jason Tatum is absolute madness. https://t.co/rbiIGY3m7T
— Motion Detector (@_hoopsfan) January 2, 2025
angel reese ahead of jayson tatum?anthony edwards 4😭 pic.twitter.com/XO9Fq63kef
— CJ🌹 (@notconnorb_) January 1, 2025
Tatum and Mbappé way too low https://t.co/iPyQpa4mwU
— justm° (@moabdi13_) January 2, 2025
lol! The JT disrespect is egregious! How can Angel Reese be above him??😅
— Ossie (@ossieu71) January 1, 2025
Not understanding this list whatsoever 2 accomplished players who are already pro in their respective sports are 24th & 20 there is nothing to predict with Tatum & Trinity they are already accomplished and will keep going lol https://t.co/zK1Wq8BtVG
— ☘️ (@10gmarco) January 1, 2025
Anthony Edward’s at 4 bro ? Angel Reese over Tatum ? Bleacher report are the kings of rage bait
— BXLL (@BXLLfortune) January 1, 2025
Ant at 4 is nuts
Above Luka, Tatum, Shai https://t.co/wSH9gSfRsw
— SA (@NotAllInIt) January 1, 2025
The edwards glazing needs to stop
— METROID PRIME 4 (@TheMusicKidd) January 1, 2025
This is the worst list ever https://t.co/BRPSyRakbl
— CLOSED (@lfc_jalen) January 1, 2025
Tatum literally schooled Luka in the NBA finals. He made him fake injuries.
Jayson Tatum is the current NBA Champion.
Put some respek on his name.
— viv (@vivceltics) January 1, 2025
Cooper Flagg is ranked ahead of Luka but behind Ant? This is more of a wish list
— LukaStan (@5mmavsfan) January 2, 2025
Fans believe Bleacher Report should redo the list to better represent which players will be more visible in the next 25 years. However, they did mention that it was merely a prediction based on a panel of votes from their top writers. Which is to say, the rankings were subjective.
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