Brandon Jennings’ ‘softest’ claim on Jayson Tatum certainly hasn’t aged well. Not only did the former Milwaukee Bucks star receive criticism, but the 2024 champion has also grown to make his case as one of the MVP candidates this season. Among the several to defend Tatum was Carmelo Anthony, observant of his growth; especially since the Paris Olympics stint. 

During the latest episode of 7pm in Brooklyn, the basketball legend expressed how the controversy during the Paris Olympics changed the perception around Jayson Tatum. “I think the Olympics. It f****d the perception of Jayson. I think it completely shattered that. It f****d him up. He’s still Jayson; he’s still going to play, but I think going through that situation and being him going through that situation on the world stage allow people to have these different types of opinions,” Melo noted. 

After winning an NBA title, Tatum added a gold medal to his spectacular résumé as well. However, Team USA benching him at the 2024 Paris Olympics came as a shock. Several expressed their disappointment with coach Steve Kerr for having Tatum play the second-fewest minutes. Melo feels that this changed people’s perception of the Celtics star; for better or worse. Nonetheless, he has kept a calm head, leading the Celtics offensively and to a 31-13 record so far.

The Knicks icon, who had expressed wanting to see more of Tatum, in demand and in control, prior to the Olympics, understands his personality now. Melo is thus only going by the performance the 6x All-Star has been putting up.

“I don’t think we could use soft no more. I don’t think we use anything with JT anymore. I think he’s proven the player he is going to be. His personality is his personality. I don’t think we have room to call him soft,” Melo makes clear. Tatum is currently averaging 27.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, per game in the 2024-25 season. He also ranks 6th in this week’s MVP ladder after making it to the top 5 only earlier this month. 

So Olympics did seem to have played a part in perception. For, Jennings too argued about Tatum’s less playing time in Paris when he explained the reason behind his “softest” claim on the 26-year-old player. Not to mention, his statement was quickly followed by backlash.

Patrick Beverley criticised Brandon Jennings over “softest” claim on Jayson Tatum 

Patrick Beverley is also among those who called out the former NBA player. During the live stream of The Pat Bev Podcast with Rone, he even went as far as to refer to Jennings as the “softest.” “No, I’m not rolling with that. That’s a bad take,” Beverley declared. 

He further added, “He doesn’t look like the normal tough guy doesn’t mean he’s not tough. He gets it done. When I guarded Brandon Jennings, I was like, ‘Yeah, soft a**.'”

The drama started back in an episode of The Gils’ Arena podcast when Jennings questioned about Tatum losing the MVP honor to his teammate Jaylen Brown. “Is he the softest Boston Celtics superstar ever? … If you’re so tough, why you didn’t get Finals MVP last year?” Jennings said. His statement was met with criticism from the Gils’ Arena member Kenyon Martin as well. The Boston Celtics’ head coach also subtly criticized the comment.

On the other hand, Tatum, who usually chooses silence to face criticism, responded with grace this time. He explained that such instances are part of the stardom. “I wasn’t mad. It comes with being one of the best players in the league. The more you accomplish, the more it gives people the opportunity to nitpick,” Tatum said. While Tatum has certainly taken the high road, he will have another chance to prove himself as the Celtics continue to forge ahead.