Jayson Tatum missed out on a big chance to get a massive bonus after not making the 2021 All-NBA Teams. The Boston Celtics player had an excellent season, considering how difficult it was for his team to be consistent all season long.
He wasn’t selected to any of the three All-NBA teams, losing the chance to get a $33 million bonus in his future contract extension. This pissed many people off, including the player, who couldn’t believe he didn’t make it.
Jayson Tatum got more voting points than Kyrie Irving. But Irving made All-NBA because he was one of the top six guards.
The NBA classifies players by position for All-NBA — and because he wasn't one of the six vote leaders at forward, Tatum misses out on $33 million.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 16, 2021
Recently, he opened up on his All-NBA snub, explaining that he thought he was a lock to any of the teams but the criteria left him out.
“I know I should’ve made it,” Tatum said on Kicks’ Beyond The Press podcast. “Just, I guess, with the season I had. I mean, $33 million is a lot. Obviously that would make anybody feel some type of way. I wasn’t necessarily upset about losing the money. I just felt like the way I was playing, everything I did, I thought it should’ve been a no-brainer. I think I was more frustrated with that.”
He even claimed that the voting process needs to change, so things are fairer. JT made it clear it’s not about the money, it’s about fairness and selecting the players that really deserve the spot.
“I think what they do need to change is, it’s kind of opinion-based,” Tatum said. “A bunch of media members get to vote. What’s the criteria? Is there a certain amount of games you need to play? Should you be in playoff contention? Is there a certain amount of points you should average depending on your position? I think there should be something like that in place, because I think if you just allow people to just vote and there’s nothing set in place like, ‘You gotta play this many games,’ or whatever it may be, I think that would help it out a lot. But I know nobody’s necessarily gonna feel bad for me and Donovan because we still get paid a lot of money. But I think it’s more that I just felt like I deserved to make it, not necessarily money.”
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was not named to the All-NBA Team for the 2020-21 season… a real snub if you ask me! He missed out on $33 million. The league needs to do something about the voting! A criteria is needed pic.twitter.com/BAdxjOyimL
— Ashley Nevel (@AshleyNevel) June 28, 2021
It’s incredible how he lost $33 million after having a terrific season. He was the reason why the Celtics managed to get to the playoffs, but that wasn’t enough. He confirmed he’s one of the best players for the future with big performances in the postseason so it’s easy to see why he’s unhappy with this whole situation.
Hopefully, the Celtics can make the right changes ahead of next season, so we see Tatum playing for a winning, competitive team, earning the honors he deserves.
