NBA
Knicks Star Sounds Off on Jayson Tatum
The New York Knicks are watching from afar as the Boston Celtics are up 3-1 in the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
Despite their commanding lead, Celtics star Jayson Tatum is receiving a boatload of criticism for not being the team’s best player throughout the series. While he played well in the Celtics’ Game 3 win, scoring 31 points, Tatum has scored under 20 in each of the other three games.
Tatum is not on pace to win Finals MVP, and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson believes the critics will continue to spout off until he wins the award.
“The narrative for Jayson is like, he has this great team around him, he should be in MVP talks, he should be Finals MVP … I think for him to escape that narrative from the media … they’re not gonna stop until he wins a Finals MVP,” Brunson told Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks.
Jaylen Brown is the likely Finals MVP if Tatum doesn’t win it. He’s averaged 21.8 points per game so far during the series and has come up in major moments for the team. Jrue Holiday is also a candidate after making a massive impact on both ends of the floor.
Haters and critics will always be around, even for the best of the best, and the only way to quiet them is to win. That’s the biggest knock on Tatum’s career so far. He’s been a bridesmaid many times, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals or better in five of his seven seasons, but never winning the Finals.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry received a similar amount of criticism in his career by not winning the Finals MVP award. In 2015, Curry’s first championship, Andre Iguodala took home the honor. In 2017 and 2018, it was Kevin Durant. But, in 2022, Curry finally grabbed the elusive Finals MVP trophy against Tatum’s Celtics, and that elevated his career legacy by achieving that next level.
Tatum is close to that goal, but Brunson is right. The critics will still be loud until he shows up and wins on the biggest stage in the game.
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