Last year, despite putting together a stellar campaign, Jayson Tatum was not selected to one of the league’s three All-NBA teams. That omission cost him more than $30 million dollars because an All-NBA appearance would’ve triggered a slew of incentives in the rookie max contract extension he signed the prior offseason.
Recently, Tatum appeared on JJ Redick’s “Old Man & The Three” podcast. There, he discussed the flaws of such a system, one where a portion of players’ earnings are tied to subjective voting from media members for All-NBA teams.
“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,’ ” Tatum said. “I was baffled: The fact that somebody can have that thought and basically cost someone $30 million. … I think that has to change.
“There’s no criteria set for the media, for the voters, on, like, who they should vote for,” he continued. “It’s, like, all opinion based.”
Jayson Tatum on the All-NBA voting process and the rookie max extension. pic.twitter.com/CnT0CYJVDl
— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) February 17, 2022
Tatum is spot-on here. The methodology needs amending. It’s unfair to him and others for some of their contract to be tied to the opinions of people they typically don’t know making arbitrary decisions. How exactly the process changes is a bit murkier, but that shouldn’t prevent change from taking place.
A star like Tatum being so vocal about this issue is important, refreshing, and necessary. Hopefully, it spurs greater dialogue and action to the players’ benefit.
