Brandon Jennings Takes Massive Shot at Celtics Star Jayson Tatum, 'He's Soft'

The former Milwaukee Bucks star claimed that Jayson Tatum is 'soft' among other Boston Celtics greats.

Jun 17, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) holds the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy with his son after Boston's 106-88 win against the Dallas Mavericks after game five of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Elsa/Pool Photo-Imagn Images / Pool Photo-Imagn Images

Being the defending champions of the basketball world comes with its share of criticism. This can come from fans, reporters, current players, and in this case, former players.

Former Milwaukee Bucks first-round pick Brandon Jennings criticized Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum recently, posing a question, "Is [Tatum] the softest Boston Celtics superstar ever?"

He posed the question on Gil's Arena, a podcast hosted by 2002-03 Most Improved Player and three-time All-Star Washington Wizards point guard Gilbert Arenas.

Jennings also brought up Tatum, despiting being one of the crucial pieces for Boston's quest to an 18th NBA title, missed out on the Finals MVP award to three-time All-Star Jaylen Brown.

"Why didn't he get finals MVP last year? Why did you let your running mate do it, if you're so tough?" Jennings asked.

Jennings doubled down on this statement, saying, "I think I'll be more afraid of Jaylen Brown than Jayson Tatum."

In a heated response, Arenas appeared to be defending the Celtics star. "That's a soft a--- 28 points per game he's averaging," Arenas declared. He later added, "That's a bad narrative," regarding Tatum not winning the Finals MVP award.

Tatum's trainer, Drew Hanlen, responded to Jennings' comments.

"I liked Brandon Jennings as a player but we gotta stop the [cap]… His comment that Tatum is ‘soft’ is pathetic. A soft player couldn’t lead their team in PTS, REB & AST to a title. A soft player wouldn’t have 51 in a G7 or 31/11/8 to win finals,” Hanlen wrote.

Brandon Jennings said a few days ago that Jayson Tatum is the ‘softest’ Celtics superstar ever.

Tatum’s trainer, Drew Hanlen, took issue with his comments: “I liked Brandon Jennings as a player but we gotta stop the 🧢… His comment that Tatum is ‘soft’ is pathetic. A soft… pic.twitter.com/3drMfZNzCw

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 7, 2025

Jennings responded to those comments.

"Since you his trainer, make sure he gets MVP this year… I heard you wrote a book called ‘Stop the bulls***’, I’m gonna write part two if he don’t get it,” Jennings wrote.

Although those are lofty expectations from the former NBA journeyman, Tatum currently is scoring 28.1 points per game, the fourth-most in the league, with a team-leading 5.5 assists per game.

The Kia MVP Ladder currently ranks Tatum as No. 4 in the MVP race behind Nikola Jokic, who he will face Tuesday night, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

His Celtics are currently No. 2 in the Eastern Conference at 26-10 but have gone 5-5 in their last 10 contests. They are second behind the 28-4 Cleveland Cavaliers who have enjoyed plenty of success this year and are in the midst of a 10-game win streak.

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