Not LeBron James or Steph Curry, Paul Pierce Feels This 26YO Star Is the Best Player in Team USA Camp by Far

The first four days of the USA training camp have given the NBA world some entertaining content. The one that excited the fans most was the stars of Team USA voting within themselves for the ‘Best Player’ tag. LA star LeBron James got a total of five votes, which was the most out of all. He was termed the best player by his teammates, but Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce does not believe so. The 2008 champion has a youngster in his mind, and he is not willing to give up on him for any other star on the team.

Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards, and Jrue Holiday got two votes each in the voting. Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, and Bam Adebayo got one each. Kevin Durant missed the practice due to a calf injury, while Jayson Tatum arrived at the training facility only this Monday. However, Pierce does not want to give up on Tatum.

On Undisputed today, Pierce shared, “[LeBron James]’s aura and popularity is on a so much on another level when these young kids go to practice, their eyes are set on LeBron…Think about this. When I went and saw Jordan for the first time, that’s all I saw,” before choosing Tatum.

“Tatum is the best player in the team,” said Pierce. When his co-host Skip Bayless pointed out that Tatum got zero votes, Pierce said that it was a “popularity contest“. 

The Celtics icon also added, “We’re talking about the guy who is just coming off a championship, on the best team,” supporting Tatum. But who really performed better?

Who had a better performance today against Canada, Jayson Tatum or LeBron James?

Team USA faced Team Canada for an exhibition game in Las Vegas today, where both James and Tatum played. The Americans defeated the Canadians, 86-72, with Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards scoring the most, 13 points. The second-highest scorer in the team was Stephen Curry, who finished with 12 points and 3 assists.

Tatum played for 17 mins, in which he scored 8 points, shooting 4-7 from the field. He also had 2 assists, 1 block, and one steal. On the other hand, James had only 7 points but secured 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists, and 1 block. This all-around performance from the King at the age of 39 is indeed appreciable.

After this game, it’s safe to say both James and Tatum made an equal contribution. To know who is the better player in the team, we might have to wait till the tournament ends. Tatum averaged 15.2 points in the 2020 Olympics, which was his second international tournament after the 2019 FIBA World Cup. LeBron James last played for USA in the 2012 Olympics, where he averaged 13.3 points. Let’s see who ends up with a better average this time.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video: