Jayson Tatum is currently in the NBA spotlight. After finally winning a championship in the Finals, many saw that the five-time NBA All-Star would lead the next generation of the basketball league’s players. However, Tatum is not the perfect representation of the new talents of a former NFL star.
Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson thought Jayson didn’t have all the capabilities to be the new face of the NBA. In his interview with Shannon Sharpe on The Nightcap, Ochocinco said that other fresh talents would be better than Tatum at being the new vision of the NBA.
“Ja [Morant] and Ant [Edwards] could be the face of the league, but Jayson Tatum doesn’t have the cache and personality and the aura. Look at Magic Johnson, look at Michael Jordan, Look at Kobe [Bryant], Look at the personalities, look at the attitude, look at the aura, the way they carry themselves. [He’s] not even close to them. I can see an Ant-Man. Everybody would gravitate towards that.”
Johnson implied that Tatum doesn’t possess personality and leadership qualities, unlike former NBA legends who became the representation of their own generations. For the former NFL star, Jayson doesn’t even come close to these people. He prefers Anthony Edwards, or the Ant-Man, to represent the new generation of NBA stars.
The three-time NBA First-Team All-Pro clarified that he has no hate against Jayson and even recognizes his talent. However, for him, the Celtics’ power forward isn’t enough to match Bryant, Johnson, or the past faces of the NBA.
Tatum is currently playing for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and he’s playing with Edwards as well. Recently, Jayson played in the starting lineup against South Sudan. Still, he performed poorly, scoring four points in 17 minutes. Edwards, meanwhile, scored 13 points.
Jayson Tatum isn’t playing impressive performances lately
So far, Tatum has never displayed good ball plays for Team USA. He never played for the team in their first match against Serbia. On the game against South Sudan, head coach Steve Kerr decided to put Jayson in the starting lineup with Steph Curry, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Devin Booker. Yet, the only thing that the 2024 NBA champion did was get five rebounds and two assists.
There’s a good chance that Tatum won’t be in the starting lineup for Team USA’s final group match against Puerto Rico. He still needs to prove to the world that he is the new face of the NBA.
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