“His true light skin colors came out” — Nick Young with a problematic point of view on Jayson Tatum's Finals performance
Nick Young and Jayson Tatum
© Kirby Lee and Winslow Townson - USA TODAY Sports
Jayson Tatum had a dream-like run in the postseason, defeating Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jimmy Butler, but got a rude awakening in the NBA Finals against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. A lot of people are disappointed with Tatum's Finals performance, but former Warrior Nick Young made a comment that won’t sit well with Tatum and a lot of other people.
“His true light skin colors came out”
Tatum was on his way to claiming the right to become the face of the NBA after dethroning beasts of the East KD, Butler, and Antetokounmpo. However, Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors had other ideas.
The Boston Celtics’ lack of experience showed, and they lost the series, 4-2. Jayson Tatum recorded the most turnovers ever in the postseason, and his performance in the Finals was disappointing, to say the least. And a lot felt he could have done better, including Nick Young.
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Young had to air his thoughts but used a very problematic point of view. Accusing Tatum of not giving in much effort and letting his teammate Jaylen Brown down is a stretch; linking that to his skin tone is deeply problematic.
It was far from an ideal performance from JT but let him learn valuable lessons here. The Warriors have been to the grandest stage several times. They knew what the Celtics were doing. As the head of the snake, it’s expected the Warriors wouldn’t let Tatum get hot or get to his rhythm.
Let Tatum grow
The criticisms come with the territory, which is what Tatum must understand now. The whole NBA now knows what Boston is capable of doing. No matter how great of a postseason run you have, the fans only remember the victors at the end. The Celtics will be remembered as runners-up, at least for a year, until they can try to change that narrative again.
This was the first Finals appearance for Tatum and his squad. Objectively, they did not do so badly. Boston gave Golden State a run for its money. Now that they experienced how to play in the grandest stage, expect Jayson, Brown, and coach Ime Udoka to make the necessary adjustments and improve.
As we wait for the C's to grow, criticizing their game is fair play. But we should leave anyone’s ethnicity or skin color out of it. They have nothing to do with someone’s ability to perform on the basketball court (and elsewhere).
