“Not.. That Guy”: Jayson Tatum’s Top-10 Status Questioned Despite Celtics Dominating Mavs in NBA Finals

Throughout his seven-year NBA career, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has become a prominent name in the world of basketball. His efforts were appreciated more during the ongoing tournament, as he led the franchise to record their highest win total in a regular season (64 wins) and efficiently got them through the playoffs. Thanks to the combined efforts of him, Jaylen Brown, and other scorers. Not only are the Celtics in the Finals now but they also recently had their second-consecutive win against the Dallas Mavericks, inching closer and closer to the Larry O’Brien trophy. Despite all of this, a 60-year-old renowned sports media personality believes that Tatum is not on his way to being considered amongst the best.

A few hours ago, Colin Cowherd released another episode of his long-running show. With Jason Timpf once again joining in as co-host, the duo proceeded to discuss the recently concluded Game 2 of the NBA Finals. The host brought up Jayson Tatum, highlighting the belief that he certainly belongs in the ‘Top-10’ list of NBA players. However, Cowherd also stated that the player, in his opinion, lacks a ‘finishing element’ that threatens his status. Taking an example from the recent matchup, the host complimented the player on his assists and his defense but critiqued his offensive prowess.

“Our lifetime: Kareem, Bird, LeBron, Steph, Duncan, Michael, we need a basket,” said Cowherd. “He’s not consistently that guy”. Highlighting how the Boston Celtics won their most recent championship back in 2008 through scorers like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, the podcaster doesn’t want to place his bets on someone whose scoring ability depends on the matchup, his headspace, etc.

Cowherd’s remarks may have come after the player’s most recent performances. During Game 1 of the Finals, while Tatum added 16 points to the overall total, he did so by successfully making only 6-16 (37.5%) field goals and 3-7 (42.9%) three-pointers. While his score was two points up during Game 2, his shooting skills had gotten even worse since Tatum went 6-22 (27.3%) with his field goals and 1-7 with his three-pointers (14.3%). While he led the scoring effort during the regular season, it was Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown who put out the higher score during the recent game.

Colin Cowherd attacks Jayson Tatum’s shooting skills: “You think Michael Jordan settles for that?”

Believe it or not, this is not the first time that Colin Cowherd has chosen to lay out his criticism of Jaylen Brown. The 60-year-old was keeping a close eye on the player and his team during their regular season clash against the Cleveland Cavaliers. With less than 20 seconds remaining, the Cavaliers were leading by a score of 105-104. Hope started to return once Tatum got possession of the ball. However, the player made a fadeaway jumper during the final seconds that could not go through the hoop. As a result, Cleveland held on to its lead and won.

No sooner had the game concluded when Colin Cowherd came out to state, “That’s the shot? You think Michael Jordan settles for that? LeBron [James] settles for that? Again, I don’t doubt you’re a good team. But they literally gave you the ball to walk up the floor.” Jayson Tatum himself spoke out on the missed shot, wishing that he could have had more time or probably should have been a little faster.

This marked another instance in which Colin Cowherd chose to compare the player with some of the greatest to walk the paint of a basketball court. Another instance in which he made it clear that Jayson Tatum is not yet ready to be on the same pedestal as the other top players.

Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about WNBA star rookies Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.