Tyrese Haliburton: Jayson Tatum Hate is 'Unwarranted,' Celtics Star Respected by Peers

Count Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton among those who believes that Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum deserves more respect from fans.

"I think it's unwarranted," he said on The Pat McAfee Show when asked why Tatum receives hate (11:35 mark). "He's obviously an elite player in our league. He's the best player on the best team in the NBA, off a championship. So I feel it's not right for the hate that he gets. I think part of it could be that he went to Duke and he plays for the Celtics, two polarizing teams. ... Us as players, he has the respect from his peers. I think that's what means more than anything else as an NBA player, the respect you get from your peers."

Tatum himself has spoken on what he perceived to be a lack of respect for what he's accomplished.

"Honestly, no," he told Michael Lee of The Washington Post when asked if he feels appreciated. "If you took the name and the face away from all my accomplishments and you're just like, 'This is what this Player A accomplished at 26,' people would talk about [me] a lot differently."

Perhaps, though it was Jaylen Brown who was the MVP of both the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals during Boston's title run last year. Still, Tatum is a six-time All-Star and has been a first-team All-NBA selection three times in his career. He's probably one of the NBA's 10-15 best players.

The Celtics seem to have quite the chip on their shoulder—Brown recently discussed the adversity he's faced during his NBA career—but perhaps that will serve as a form of motivation as they seek to go back-to-back.