Getty Is Jayson Tatum a top-five player in the NBA?
Jayson Tatum’s numbers may not be as good as they were a year ago, but he has the Boston Celtics with the best record in the Eastern Conference. The addition of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday has allowed the Celtics to take some of the scoring pressure off their three-time All-NBA star.
Former Celtics star Paul Pierce made some waves on social media recently when he gave his opinion on his top five players in today’s NBA. In that group, he included Tatum. That generated more than a few not-so-agreeable comments.
Paul Pierce Claims Jayson Tatum Is the Best American-Born Player in the NBA
It’s no secret Pierce is a Tatum fan. In November, Pierce announced on a “Ticket and the Truth” episode that Tatum is the best American-born player in the NBA.
“You look at his growth and see what he’s done over the past couple of years,” Pierce said of Tatum. “He’s been First-Team All-NBA. Hit you with 55 in the All-Star Game. Hit you with another 50, Game 7 versus Philly.
“I’m just looking around. I think he’s passed KD. I think he’s passed LeBron, today. The only argument I think you got is maybe Steph (Curry).”
He recently doubled down on that opinion by putting his top five NBA players on X.
Luka , Jokic,The Greek,Embiid ,Tatum , so who y’all saying not top 5 in the League right now 🤔🤔
Pierce listed Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Tatum. He asked, “Who y’all saying not top 5 in the League right now?”
Pierce Took Plenty of Heat for His List
Making any type of list of best players can be challenging. Someone good is always going to be left out. Building up players doesn’t mean you’re putting others down, but it always seems to feel that way when you make a list.
Pierce found that out when scrolling through the comments in his top-five list. Many fans believed LeBron James should be on the list. Some ripped Pierce for holding a grudge against James, a player he faced several times in his career.
“You got cooked by Bron your whole career so I understand if you still hold a grudge,” one X user replied.
Another user wrote, “You take LeBron over all those guys, all things equal the way HE’s playing this year.”
Pierce went out of his way to say he wasn’t hating on James. He believes at this point in his career, he’s not in the top five.
“It’s not hate on Lebron it just is what it is he arguably between 6-9 Curry Durant Gilgeous Booker all have an argument,” he posted on X.
While there were plenty of pro-LeBron replies, there were just as many anti-Tatums.
One user wrote that Tatum wasn’t playing like a top player at the moment. Pierce took exception to that and fired back, getting a little personal in the process.
“He coming off NBA Player of the Month Dummy,” Pierce wrote.
“Tatum and Giannis over LeBron is straight troll bro!,” another user wrote.
Pierce certainly stirred up some controversy with his list, but that’s exactly what any ranking of players is supposed to do.