Jayson Tatum doesn't think anybody should feel bad he missed out on an All-NBA selection last year. But he is calling out the problems with the voting process.
In a recent appearance on JJ Redick's excellent podcast, "The Old Man and the Three," Tatum opened up about his snub. If Tatum made All-NBA, he would've earned an extra $30 million over the duration of his rookie-scale extension. While Tatum signed a $175 million extension — and wisely points out he's not complaining about the money — he said it's not fair that the random whims of voters can dramatically alter a player's earning potential.
"There's so much that bothered me with that whole situation," Tatum said. "I think the narrative was, 'Jayson didn't make All-NBA, he loses $30 million.' From that headline, nobody is going to feel bad for me. I still got $175 million, nobody is going to feel bad, I don't want anybody to feel bad about the money part. My lifestyle hasn't changed. It's not about that."
The biggest issue is that voters are still mandated to separate players into obsolete positions: guards, forwards and centers. Media members aren't given flexibility to vote in accordance with how the modern game is played.
Tatum and Redick both said they would be in favor of a system that just chooses the 15 best players in the NBA.
"The fact that somebody could have that thought and basically cost someone $30 million … I think that has to change," Tatum said. "There's no criteria set for the media voters on who they should vote for. It's like all opinion-based. I think there's just a little too much on the line for that."
The Celtics' young star also took issue with the perception of his play. Though he averaged 26-7-4, he didn't receive much recognition, because the Celtics stumbled through their season and into an early playoff exit.
"I'm certain you can't find one person in the media that said I had a monster year. Seventh seed, two games above .500, it's whatever, I wasn't an MVP candidate or anything like that," he said. "But then there are guys that averaged, I don't know, 19 and 10, 19-10-4, and you go on TV and it's like 'They are having a monster season.'"
Winners of nine of their last 10, the Celtics are setting themselves up for a second half. Maybe that will give Tatum the boost he needs to receive All-NBA honors this time around.
