Brandon Jennings may have picked the wrong NBA superstar to criticize -- especially considering which head coach that superstar plays for.
Jennings, a former NBA player who last played in 2018, caused a stir on a recent episode of Gilbert Arena's podcast when he wondered aloud whether Jayson Tatum is the "softest Boston Celtics superstar ever."
"If you’re so tough, why you didn’t get Finals MVP last year?" Jennings said of Tatum. "Why you let your running mate (Jaylen Brown) do it? If you so tough, if you so all this, why you didn’t get it? Why you didn’t get it?"
On Wednesday night, Tatum fired back at Jennings with an Instagram post of his highlights that included the caption "SoFtesT SuPeRstar in CeLtiC HiStoRy" with a laughing emoji.
But Jennings wasn't done catching heat from the Celtics. On Thursday morning, C's head coach Joe Mazzulla was asked on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand for his take on Jennings' criticism of Tatum and responded in classic Mazzulla fashion.
"First thought was, that's when you use one of your coins," Mazzulla said. "That's a coin."
For context, Mazzulla is referencing the alternate universe he imagined during an October interview with Zolak & Bertrand in which everyone in society has five "coins" they can use at any point in a given year to fight a random stranger.
"What if we all walked around with like five coins, right? And at any point in time, you can just hand one out, and you just challenge a guy to like, combat,” Mazzulla said at the time. “If you do pull a coin on a guy and he beats you up, like, that’s your fault. You've got to either train harder, or pick and choose your coins better.”
Considering Mazzulla's background in jiu-jitsu, Jennings may want to cross the street if he sees Mazzulla walking in his direction.
Mazzulla then followed up with a thoughtful answer on how players like Tatum have to navigate constant outside criticism.
"It's unfortunate that him in particular, but (also) players in general, feel like they have to fight for that constant affirmation," Mazzulla said. "So, the thing that I try to do the most is like, we don't have to be affirmed by other people's opinions.
"Jayson is an unbelievable player -- a great player, one of the best Celtics of all time -- and the facts speak for themselves."
Tatum certainly doesn't need the validation of Jennings, who played for five teams over nine NBA seasons and never made an All-Star team. Not only did Tatum lead the Celtics in points, rebounds and assists per game during their 2024 playoff run, but the 26-year-old boasts an incredible resume that includes five All-Star nominations, three First-Team All-NBA awards and two Olympic gold medals.
"We just don't have to be affirmed by other people's opinions, especially when they're not in the arena," Mazzulla added. "At the end of the day, that opinion has absolutely no ramifications on his career, his path, the game tomorrow, practice -- like, it just doesn't really mean anything.
"... In the arena, you have a choice to decide how you're going to deal with the power of other people's words. They're just words. But nothing should ever be taken away from that guy's career, in my opinion. The reason why he gets that is because of how good he is."
