Jayson Tatum Explains Need for All-NBA Voting Changes After Missing $30M Bonus

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum lobbied for changes to how the All-NBA teams are determined after his omission last year proved costly.

Tatum, who's signed to a five-year, $163 million extension, missed out on an additional $32.6 million when he failed to qualify for an All-NBA team in 2020-21.

Appearing on JJ Redick's The Old Man and The Three podcast, the three-time All-Star lamented the lack of minimum requirements for a player to clear in order to get an All-NBA nod.

"There's no criteria set for the voters on who they should vote for," Tatum said at the 4:12 mark. "It's all opinion-based. ... It's all like, 'Well, you know, I like this guy a little bit more.'"

A little earlier in the interview (at the 2:48 mark), he explained how he typically tunes out outside praise or criticism, with one exception:

"The only time I let it affect me, I remember last year when I was in the playoffs—or the playoffs might've been over—and everybody was coming out with their All-NBA ballots and podcasts and who they were voting for. I had $30 million on the line to make it. 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.' And I was baffled."

Subjectivity always factors into a postseason award or individual honor race. It becomes an obvious issue when there are tangible—and very large—stakes at play.

Tatum's point is one echoed by those who have a say in the All-NBA discussion:

As to Tatum's comments about the ambiguity of the All-NBA team, it will be tough to find a workable remedy.

Turning the ballots over to the players themselves likely isn't a solution based on how they vote for the All-Star Game.

Setting up firm statistical barriers may not appease anyone, either, because numbers alone don't tell the story of a player's impact on the court.

When Draymond Green last made an All-NBA team in 2016-17, he averaged 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.0 steals. On production alone, Green didn't look like a top-15 player, yet his value to the Golden State Warriors was apparent to anybody who watched the team that year.

In general, this is a problem shouldn't be left at the doorstep of the media but rather the NBA and National Basketball Players Association. The collective bargaining agreement is what ties supermax contracts to the All-NBA team.

Perhaps addressing that will be a point of contention for the players' union when the time comes to negotiate a new CBA.