Jayson Tatum Slams Stephen A. Smith, Udonis Haslem, and Other ‘Experts’ for Betting on Mavericks in Epic IG Post

The Boston Celtics‘ championship victory holds a lot of significance. Of course, for the franchise, it was a historical night. They now hold the most number of titles in the NBA. However, unlike each and every Celtics player who stuck with the team until they reached this stage; this ring was an answer for all of their critics. Here, we are using it as an umbrella term that includes every naysayer, hater, and a special group called basketball “experts”. And those are people Jayson Tatum would very well identify too.

Leading towards the Finals, Tatum had explained how he was still undermined and the hate just kept coming. Despite leading his team selflessly, with a maturity and calmness that was beyond his 26-year-old self since he stepped foot on the floor, JT was always at the top of the critic list. But last night, when the Cs finally clinched that title, beating a deserving opponent as the Mavericks, that in itself was an answer that needed no words.

But we are all human. There has to be a bit of calling out. Or should we say, answering back? In his latest story updates on Instagram, Jayson Tatum targeted basketball analysts and experts. He shared a video that was a compilation of prominent analysts, some of whom were NBA vets, like Udonis Haslem, Shaquille O’Neal, Stephen A. Smith, and more, putting their money on Dallas. He captioned the video, “Experts,” followed by a bunch of grinning faces with sweat emojis. We know those stories don’t last long. So here’s the video!

The Celtics’ official Instagram account originally posted it, with the caption, “We kept the receipts.” 

Tatum’s decision to share the video can hardly be considered as being petty now, yes? After all, the journey wasn’t easy at all.

From ‘He can’t’ to ‘No way! He did!’ Jayson Tatum struck back at every critic ever with his first title!

“Those three, four days after (the NBA Finals), I was miserable. I really, really was … I didn’t have an appetite, I didn’t want to talk to anybody, I didn’t want to go anywhere.” These were Tatum’s words after the Cs cut it close in 2022 vs the Warriors. But since then, the 26-year-old has learned a lot of lessons and grown better at canceling out the outside noise. However, when JT stopped listening to what the larger public had to say about his faults, those words started to affect his family.

His mother, for one, was “very upset” at the kind of hate her son was receiving. Despite Boston showcasing a season-best performance, Tatum has been slammed for not putting up the same kind of stats as his fellow superstar, Jaylen Brown. There were a few who even nitpicked about his expression when JB was named the Finals MVP! Apparently, it wasn’t happy enough for a few.

You would think that once the man won a championship, this hate talk would stop. At least for a time, right?

No! It continued well into the night. When Jayson Tatum used Kanye West’s iconic 2005 Grammy speech, NBA fans were simply merciless in their criticism. But nothing could destroy the happiness and relief of the 2017 No. 3 pick. And it was clear when the 2024 NBA champion revealed what his son, Deuce Tatum, whispered in his ear during the post-game presser.

“He told me that I was the best in the world. And I said, ‘You damn right I am.'” 

An emotional journey for Jayson and his family, isn’t it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

While you’re here, check out what Shaq’s former agent, Leonard Armato, said about Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese in an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports.