Despite leading the Boston Celtics to the coveted 18th NBA championship, Jayson Tatum seems to be fighting for recognition in a way that stars like Nikola Jokic never had to. Why? According to former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas, it’s simple: the media isn’t ready for Tatum to be the face of the NBA. And in a new, fiery take, Arenas argues that Tatum’s Finals MVP snub was just another chapter in a bigger media bias story.

In a Halloween episode of Gil’s Arena, the discussion took an intriguing twist when Tatum’s place on the team came up. The co-hosts suggested Jaylen Brown as the Celtics’ go-to guy, hinting at his Finals MVP status last season. But Arenas quickly jumped in, asking, “When did Brown become the number one option? When did you hear that?” For Arenas, Tatum’s spot as the team’s leader is clear. According to him, media narratives have twisted reality, ignoring Tatum’s impact to give Brown the spotlight instead.

So, how did Tatum get overlooked? Arenas points to early season predictions, claiming that some reporters said outright, “Jason Tatum cannot win the championship being the number one option.” Arenas explained this narrative influenced the MVP voting, adding, “Those are the same people who voted (for MVP).” It’s as if the media wanted to keep Tatum from the honor to save face, crafting a narrative and then voting against him to make it stick. But Arenas didn’t stop there.

He believes the media’s spotlight on Brown was less about celebrating him and more about overshadowing Tatum. “When did Brown become a number one option publicly? 82 games? No… When they realized Jayson was probably going to win the championship,” Arenas argued on the podcast.

For those still on the fence, the Finals stats tell a story of their own. Brown averaged 22.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.3 APG, and 1.2 SPG, while Tatum was close with 21.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 7.1 APG, and 1.1 SPG. Both were crucial in the Celtics’ push, yet the media spotlight only seemed to find one player.

Gilbert Arenas exposed media bias against Tatum earlier as well

Back in September, Gilbert Arenas took aim at the NBA on Gil’s Arena, accusing the league of sidelining Celtics star Jayson Tatum. In Arenas’ view, the NBA simply didn’t want Tatum as the face of the league, no matter how much he achieved on the court. It wasn’t just about Tatum’s game; to Arenas, the lack of recognition speaks volumes about a deeper bias.

“If the NBA wanted to make him the face, they would have just gave him awards,” Arenas said. He pointed out how, instead of praise, Tatum faced constant criticism from analysts and voters alike. “When they were talking on TV, they were bashing Jayson Tatum. This couldn’t have been the face of the NBA,” Arenas argued, noting that the league’s chosen stars get a different, more forgiving treatment.

For Arenas, becoming the league’s “face” isn’t about pure skill. It’s about the narrative the media decides to push. He illustrated this with Joel Embiid, recalling how the media suddenly shifted their focus to campaign for Embiid as the best in the league. Arenas saw the shift as a crafted storyline, not one based purely on performance.

“When Jokic was winning that award and they wanted Embiid to win it, how did that sound? Sounded very different, right?” Arenas added, describing how Embiid’s “campaign” seemed to appear out of nowhere. For Arenas, the lack of that same push for Tatum says it all: the NBA has never wanted him as their leading man.