Would you believe it if someone told you that Jayson Tatum wasn’t in his prime? You will say it’s a joke. A comeback meant everything to a player who missed earning his Finals MVP and faced benching at the Olympics. And we don’t have to explain how that major bounceback happened for the 26-year-old star. But once again, clouds of doubt emerge as veteran analyst express their thoughts about JT.

So Brian Windhorst, Tim Bontemps, and Tim MacMahon discussed the NBA MVP straw poll on The Hoop Collective. And well, Nikola Jokic is leading the race. Surprised? Surely not. But, with Jayson Tatum sitting in the fourth position on the table, the controversies began. Fans often ask why people undermine JT, but the pattern stays the same season after season.

Tim Bontemps said: “Jayson Tatum is an incredible player and the Celtics are a great team. But they’re focused on June. And his numbers, he’s not putting up the numbers. These other guys are. They play an egalitarian style there. He’s not forcing numbers like that. I just don’t think that it’s going to be a scenario.” 

Meanwhile, Windhorst commented: “He’s not like the clear-cut best player on that, on the best team. He, I mean, he, I would say that he is, but Jaylen Brown is a driving force. I mean, they have a ton of great players, but Jayson Tatum is there.”

Well, Tatum has been averaging more than 25 points in almost all the games. He’s currently 28.3 ppg, with a 45.3 FG%. But of course, compared to Nikola Jokic’s 31 ppg and 56.5 FG%. However, to say JT isn’t the best player on the Celtics might have been a harsh call from the veteran Brian Windhorst.

And thus fans are now fuming with rage. They believe it was “Extremely disrespectful” of Windy to make such a remark on the 5x NBA All-Star and 2024 champ. Is it necessary to always criticize Jayson Tatum? Fans surely have a lot of questions on their mind after this.

Analysts take an odd dig at Jayson Tatum, leaving fans incredibly upset

“@WindhorstESPN is not the clear cut #1 NBA analyst on ESPN,” someone commented. This direct criticism of Brian Windhorst clearly shows the fans aren’t happy with his verdict. Well, it’s not the first time that the analysts have put Jayson Tatum’s performance on the critics’ guillotine. Particularly Windy has shown tough love to the power forward whenever he got a chance. Just like he did in August when Steve Kerr benched JT at the Olympics against Serbia.

Another fan thinks: “Just trying to drive a narrative and develop a plot.” The narrative angle has been quite a popular one in the NBA and it’s not just Jayson Tatum who’s got a plot around him. But since we’re talking about the Celtics star, let’s stick to him for now, shall we? For some reason or another, there has been a persistent negative light on JT. And a lot of fans believe it’s because of the media who just cannot give a “non-biased” opinion.

So, someone pointed out: “People like Brian Windhorst is the reason Tatum got snubbed out finals mvp the media trying to push a agenda.” That’s a direct allegation on the veteran analyst. For the fans, Jayson Tatum’s efforts are evident. However, they believe that the overall growth of their favorite star affects media personalities like Windy, prompting them to criticize him. The Finals MVP snub they believe is an example of the after-effect of the same.

“Even Bontempts the hater was like man wtf u talking about lol.” Well, that’s true—Tim Bontemps, who rarely supports Jayson Tatum, was taken aback for once. “Not the clear-cut best player,” is undoubtedly an extremely harsh take. Of course, other players like Payton Pritchard and Jaylen Brown are doing an outstanding job for the C’s but for Tatum, his growth seems directly proportional to the naysayers ‘kind’ words.

“@NBA still wondering why ratings are tanking get non-biased people on these shows these people are garbage.” Another fan directly blames analysts for the league’s low ratings, accusing them of failing to provide unbiased opinions on players. And well, if Adam Silver is looking forward to making Jayson Tatum the next face of the NBA, then shouldn’t it become necessary to put some positive light on the St. Louis native?

Jayson Tatum continues to silence critics with his brilliance, yet the media finds a way to stir the pot. Fans aren’t buying the constant digs, and the backlash is loud. If Tatum isn’t the clear-cut best, who is? Maybe the analysts need to take a page from JT’s playbook—focus, perform, and let the numbers do the talking.