Last season, unlike the previous one, Jayson Tatum was not considered one of the fifteen best players in the league. Like Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook, the Celtics winger had not been selected among the “All-NBA Teams”.
Beyond recognition, this non-selection had a financial consequence for him and Donovan Mitchell in particular. Extended a few months earlier, they were going to receive 163 million dollars over the next five years, and not 195, or a difference of 32.6 million dollars.
This episode, Jayson Tatum has not forgotten. ” The only time I let myself be affected by this was when everyone was talking about the newsletters, on the podcasts, everyone was voting forremembers the Celtics player, interviewed by JJ Redick on his podcast. There was $30 million at stake for me. I specifically remember one person saying, ‘I’m not a fan of his shot selection, so I couldn’t put it on my report card’. And I was… baffled. The fact that someone can think like that and cost another $30 million…“
The concern according to him, and he had already had the opportunity to express it last June, is the absence of objective criteria which has a direct impact on the salary of the players concerned. It is recalled that the three major five are selected by a panel of 100 media representatives.
I like this guy a little more
” Let’s put my situation aside, let’s think about the next extensions of rookies. I think that needs to change because there are no set criteria for the media, the voters, on how they should vote. Everything is based on opinion. There are no criteria like: ‘He should play so many games’, ‘He should be in the playoffs or have an average of so many points’. It’s just, ‘I like this guy a little more’. There’s just a little too much at stake for that.“
Jayson Tatum is well aware that all of the league’s distinctions, from individual trophies (MVP, defender of the year, etc.) to All-Star selections, are primarily based on the personal appreciation of voters. Establishing such criteria for “All-NBA Teams” would thus require reviewing the allocation of other rewards, which condition certain bonuses in player contracts.
” There are so many things that bothered me about this storycontinues Tatum. The message read: ‘Jayson not selected, losing $30 million’. With this title, no one will pity me. I still received $175 million. I don’t want anyone to feel bad about the money. My lifestyle hasn’t changed, it’s not about that. I was frustrated when the results came out and when I saw how people voted, which came into play for the media.“
To see if he manages to evacuate some of this frustration with a potential new selection in the “All-NBA Teams” next spring.
| Jayson Tatum | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2017-18 | BOS | 80 | 31 | 47.5 | 43.4 | 82.6 | 0.6 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 13.9 |
| 2018-19 | BOS | 79 | 31 | 45.0 | 37.3 | 85.5 | 0.9 | 5.2 | 6.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 15.7 |
| 2019-20 | BOS | 66 | 34 | 45.0 | 40.3 | 81.2 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 23.4 |
| 2020-21 | BOS | 64 | 36 | 45.9 | 38.6 | 86.8 | 0.8 | 6.6 | 7.4 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 26.4 |
| 2021-22 | BOS | 55 | 36 | 43.3 | 32.9 | 84.5 | 1.2 | 7.2 | 8.5 | 4.2 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 25.8 |
| Total | 344 | 33 | 45.3 | 38.0 | 84.1 | 0.9 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 20.4 | |
