Making the All-NBA team is more than just a badge of honor for players. Sometimes, making (or missing) the team can determine the fate of millions of dollars.
For Jayson Taum, he discovered that for himself first-hand when he failed to make the cut in the 2020-21 season. Because of an extra incentive on his contract, he was denied the chance to claim over $30 million that would have been his had he been named an All-NBA player.
Speaking on ‘The Old Man & The Three’ podcast, Tatum shared his thoughts on the All-NBA voting process, arguing that the random thought of a voter should not be able to cost someone so much money.
“Everybody was coming out with their All-NBA ballots podcasts and who they were voting for. I had $30 million on the line to make it. I specifically remember one person saying ‘I’m not a fan of his shot selection so I just couldn’t put him on my All-NBA ballot.’ I was baffled. You know a lot of guys have incentives for making All-NBA. Everyone knows I didn’t make it last year, I lost $30 million or whatever. The fact that somebody could have that thought and basically cost someone $30 million… forget about me. Think about the next rookie extension guys that come in. I think that has to change. There’s no criteria set for the voters on who they should vote for. It’s all opinion-based. … It’s all like, ‘Well, you know, I like this guy a little bit more.’ I think there’s just a little bit too much on the line for that.”
We can all agree that the All-NBA voting process could be done better. Every voter has their own biases and it wouldn’t hurt for the NBA to try setting some criteria for which players voters can select.
Still, there’s always going to be one person who feels slighted. There simply isn’t enough room for all the guys who feel like they should be on the team.
This season, Tatum’s place on the All-NBA list is once again in jeopardy. There are a lot of worthy players and many of them are locks to get in. But if Tatum continues his string of recent performances, and leads the Celtics to a strong finish, it will be hard to deny him a place on the team.
Considering last year’s snub, it is safe to say he’s got some extra motivation.
