The topic of the NBA and who the face of the league is has been at the forefront of many minds this week.
The NBA is in a weird spot in terms of its rating. Nonetheless, the trade of Luka Doncic to the Lakers has appeared to do wonders for the league, or at least for L.A.
As for the Celtics, they are in a great spot themselves, and not just when it comes to ratings. Boston is once again the favorite to win the title and go back-to-back. The Celtics have all the tools to do just that alongside their superstar forward, Jayson Tatum.
Tatum is in his eighth season in the league, and he has accomplished much. While that is the case, being the face of the league is a different standard.
Many don't view that as Tatum, especially FS1 analyst Colin Cowherd. On Thursday, in a segment of his show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, he went off on Tatum and his desire to be the face of the league.
“Hell, he wasn't the face of the Celtics in the Finals, Jaylen Brown was. Marcus Smart, two years earlier… Tatum's excellent. He's not in the same zip code as cool. Zion had a chance to be the face of the league but he ate himself out of playing time. Ja Morant maybe had a chance; he wasn't mature enough.”
On top of that, Cowherd also added that Tatum lacks other stuff outside of accolades and numbers.
“Just think about this. Close your eyes. Think about Magic Johnson – You can see the smile. Think about Michael – You can see that cocky grin. Think about LeBron – You can see the imagery, pregame, chalk. You can close your eyes and there’s images with stars.”
“Close your eyes now and do it with Tatum. I don’t see anything! 26 a night. I don’t see anything.”
Tatum may not have the aura or presence of the others, but he certainly has the number and accolades.
Tatum has done all he can to make a name for himself and has the popularity to back it up. He is currently listed third behind Cuirry and James on the NBA's list of top-selling jerseys during the first half of the season.
Tatum has everything on his side to eventually be the face of the league if he already isn't. He's an NBA champion, was on the cover of NBA 2K25, and is on the best team in the league.
Tatum is only 26 years old, and his resume in the NBA is astonishing. He is an NBA champion, six-time NBA All-Star, and three-time All-NBA First Team in eight NBA seasons.
