Getty Andrew Wiggins defends Jayson Tatum during a game between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics.
In the wake of the Boston Celtics’ nail-biting win over the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals on May 29, the Golden State Warriors finally have an opponent locked in for their latest title bid. Steph Curry and his crew are now tasked with beating Jayson Tatum and the Beantowners to capture their fourth chip in the last eight years.
Of course, Dub Nation has been chomping at the bit to see the C’s go down ever since Marcus Smart’s ill-fated dive for a loose ball during a March game between the two clubs resulted in Curry’s hitting the shelf for a month. Fans have also unearthed an old tweet that they hope will provide further motivation for their team.
Specifically, they’ve drawn attention to the social media musings of a 14-year-old Tatum who, in 2012, tweeted the following about a certain future Warriors wing: “Jabari Parker is better the Andrew Wiggins.”
Needless to say, Tatum’s tweet has not aged well.
The Great Debate of 2014 Revived
Longtime fans may recall that Wiggins and Parker were considered the top prospects of the heralded 2014 draft class, getting picked No. 1 and 2, respectively. Ultimately, many in the group didn’t quite live up to the hype. However, Wiggins’ career has far exceeded those of many of his classmates, Parker included.
Coincidentally, Parker was waived by the Celtics in January.
So, Tatum’s old Parker-Wiggins take has been brought back to the forefront by Twitter sleuths. And the Warriors contingent is trying real hard to make it a thing with the Celtics-Warriors NBA Finals looming.
“Wait till they show this disrespect to Wiggins, gonna motivate him to dominate him on both ends like he did to [Luka Doncic] and put him on a poster or 2!” tweeted one fan.
In short order, the Dub Nation denizens attempted to do just that, tagging Wiggins’ Twitter account and imploring the 2022 All-Star to set Tatum straight.
“@22wiggins i personally wouldn’t let him say that to me without winning a ring,” read one of the new responses to Tatum’s original declaration.
“@22wiggins LOOK WHAT TATUM SAID ABOUT YOU,” another fan prodded.
Meanwhile, a handful of Redditors took aim at Tatum specifically, with one writing: “Tatum f****d around, now he’s going to find out.” Another added: “Tatum broke the code.”
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Wiggins vs. Parker at a Glance
In fairness to Parker — and Tatum who, again, was just 14 when he made his declaration — injuries played a huge role in the former Duke standout’s career spiraling. Before suffering two ACL tears to the same knee over a two-year span, Parker appeared to be well on his way toward a big-time run with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Before his second injury occurred in 2017, he was averaging 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest as a third-year pro and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s partner-in-crime.
On the whole, though, Wiggins has clearly been the better NBA baller, putting up 19.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game with shooting splits of 45-35-72 over eight seasons. Parker, meanwhile, has logged a 14-6 line while shooting 49.4% from the floor and 32.6% from deep.
We needn’t even address the seismic gap on the defensive side of the court.
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