“We will avenge Jayson Tatum.” This tweet symbolized the backlash faced by Team USA head coach Steve Kerr. Kerr faced intense criticism from fans for his decision to bench the Celtics’ star who had just come off a championship win. Kerr’s potential replacements have already been named. The Warriors coach was once again the take of social media and it involved Tatum.

In a recent video doing the Internet rounds, Tatum can be seen dribbling the ball and trying to get it past the screener. He tries once. No luck. A second time. Fails again. The ball refuses to go clean through the hoop for the third time. You might say: what’s the big deal? The defender could’ve been a pro player. Well, the catch is that the defender was just another Tatum fan and this happened in a court in China.Tatum’s failures have given the Internet sleuths a lot to talk about. The brightest spotlight of praise fell on none other than Steve Kerr.

Jayson Tatum: From Team USA’s shining star to being called the “good impression of Angel Reese”

When unleashed, the wrath of fans tends to target everyone. Tatum’s failure to hit the easy layups during the Celtics’ China tour ahead of the season is a case in point. One of the fans reacted to the post, “Bro still trying to get his minutes in from the Olympics.” This was a direct dig aimed at Tatum referencing his benching at the Paris Olympics. He was benched in the opener against Serbia and the semifinal.

Another netizen praised Kerr. “Steve Kerr you did the right thing (with a laughing emoticon).” To which another fan joined in saying, “Steve Kerr knew wah he been doin“. Just weeks ago, Kerr was criticized for his “outrageous decision” to bench Tatum. However, Tatum’s poor display with the ball in China has turned the tide!

Some fans even dissected the video clip down to its smallest detail. Observing the easy misses, they compared the Celtics’ star to the Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese, whose struggles with layups have become her Achilles’ heel. One of the fans wrote, “Get this man an Angel Reese jersey”. Another quipped, “Didn’t know Angel Reese changed her name to ‘Jayson Tatum.'”

Although Tatum is facing the full brunt of the fans’ fury as we speak, none can forget his sensational on-court performances. The 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists from Jayson Tatum played a crucial role in the Celtics dominating the Mavs with a 106-88 win, bagging the 2024 NBA Finals. Despite this unsavory episode, fans expect a lot from Jayson Tatum this season.