'I Know I Should Have Made It': Jayson Tatum Opens Up About Not Making All-NBA Team
BOSTON (CBS) -- Jayson Tatum is fresh off his best statistical season in a Celtics uniform, but he's still disappointed that he did not make any All-NBA teams this year.
Tatum was definitely worthy of an All-NBA nod. He averaged a career-best 26.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists over 64 games, which were better numbers this season than in the 2019-20 season, when he was named to the All-NBA Third Team.
Along with not getting the recognition, the 23-year-old lost out on some extra money. The Celtics inked Tatum to a five-year extension worth $163 million, which would have bumped up $195.6 million had he earned an All-NBA spot this season.
Tatum told Ashley Nevel of Kick's Beyond the Media podcast that he felt he "should have made it".
"I know I should have made it, just, I guess, with the season I had," he said to Nevel. "I mean $33 million on the line. Obviously, that would make anyone feel some type of way. And I wasn't necessarily upset about losing the money. I think I just felt like the way I was playing, everything I did, I thought it should have been a no-brainer. I think I was just more frustrated with that."
Tatum added that it may serve the league better if there were changes to the voting system for All-NBA teams.
"I think what they do need to change is - it's kind of opinion-based. 100 media members have the vote, and what's the criteria, right? Is there a certain amount of games you need to play. Should you be in playoff contention? There's 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', whatever it may be. I think that would help it out a lot."
Along with Tatum, Utah's Donovan Mitchell, who helped lead the Jazz to a one-seed in the West, was seen as one of the more higher-profile players to no bet on the All-NBA lists.
"I know nobody's going to necessarily feel bad for me and Donovan because we still get paid a lot of money," Tatum said. "But I just felt like I deserved to make it."
Tatum will be playing for USA Basketball in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. He is currently the youngest player on the roster.
