The Boston Celtics have had no shortage of great players in their history. One of those players is Paul Pierce. The longtime Celtic was with the team for 15 years, becoming a fan-favorite. Once his career ended, he moved into the media sphere, giving his hot takes on the NBA and its players. However, he is still a Celtic at heart. In a recent appearance, Pierce claimed that star Jayson Tatum is one of the most underappreciated players in all of sports and had an interesting reason to back it up.
Boston Celtics Legend Paul Pierce On Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum accomplished a lot in his eight-year career. He has been named an All-Star for five straight years and made first-team All-NBA for three straight years. He has averaged 23.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game in his career. On top of this, he has made the Eastern Conference Finals six times and the Finals twice, winning one last season. While he has played with other high-level teammates, there is no question he is the team leader. Pierce had an interesting take on why he thinks all these accomplishments get glossed over.
“Because he plays for Boston, Boston is the most hated team in all of sports… The guy has been to 6 ECF in 8 years, 2 finals in 8 years. Like if you match that up the KD’s and with all the stars they ain’t do that.”
“That’s just what it is. Every player through Boston, even Larry Bird, was under-appreciated, you know what I’m saying? Because at one point, he was the best player in the league.”
The legend’s reasoning is that Boston is such a lightning rod of hate that people gloss over how good players are. There is no question that Tatum is one of the best players in the NBA, but it is true that he often does not get talked about the same way as veterans like Steph Curry or young stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Is this because sports fans hate the Celtics?
Other Factors
Pierce might have a point. We all tend to downplay the accomplishments of teams we don’t like. However, I think there is more at play here. Tatum has played on some stacked teams during his time in the league. Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, and Gordon Hayward have all been or are currently teammates of Tatum. We saw this on a greater scale with Kevin Durant in Golden State.
Many don’t appreciate what Durant did for the team because of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. However, he was an integral part of the championship teams. Tatum may be running into this to a lesser degree. He has played with so many top-tier players that it seems like his impact is diminished. More than likely, this is Pierce being a homer, which any sports fan can respect.
Final Thoughts
The crazy thing about Tatum’s career is that it is far from over. He has already accomplished so much and still has plenty of years ahead of him. While he may be underappreciated now, when his career is over, we all may feel differently. The Boston Celtics are gunning for another championship. If they can win back-to-back titles, people may have to start talking about Tatum in a different way.
