Has the basketball world been unfair to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown recently? The past few months have shown a pattern that more-or-less confirms this bias. And its none other than Charles Barkley who now seems to calling out the NBA for allegedly Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown following their treatment during Team USA’s 2024 Paris Olympics campaign, comparing their experience to Isiah Thomas’ controversial exclusion from the 1992 Dream Team.

Barkley criticized the league for ‘pissing off’ two of the top players in the NBA after their championship win with the Boston Celtics. He expressed his frustrations on “The Bill Simmons Podcast“, speaking of how Team USA and the NBA have handled two of its star players. He drew a parallel to Isiah Thomas’ infamous exclusion from the 1992 Dream Team, which was speculated to involve tensions with Michael Jordan. “Only the NBA can do that. Well, let’s p–s off two of the top ten players in the NBA, after they are coming off a championship.”

“I don’t think…. maybe Isiah Thomas was treated unfairly on the dream team, but I cannot think of any other scenario where the NBA pissed off two players more than they did this summer with Jayson and Jalen,” the 61-year-old said. “I really believe that sincerely.”

Fans belonging to the Michael Jordan era would be well acquainted with the 1992 Team USA roster for the Barcelona Olympics. Even though the team was filled with NBA’s top stars of the time, like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas was surprisingly left out. Despite being one of the best point guards, he was snubbed because of his “rivalry” with Jordan, who many believe influenced the decision.

Though unproven, there are parallels to Brown’s situation, as he hinted at Nike’s role in his exclusion from Team USA. Brown’s strained relationship with the sneaker brand and its influence on Team USA has led to speculation. After Derrick White was chosen as Kawhi Leonard’s replacement on Team USA, the 2024 Finals MVP took to X. He stated, “@nike this what we doing?”

Tatum’s case drew similar controversy, with many blaming Team USA coach Steve Kerr for sidelining him. Following Kerr’s departure from the role, critics, including ESPN, expressed relief, stating Tatum deserved more playing time.

Ironically, Charles Barkley has now joined the group of analysts who have shared their thoughts on the alleged ‘disrespect’ shown to both Brown and Tatum. This would certainly come as a surprise to some since it was less than a year ago when it was Barkley who handed out the ‘disrespect’ to the Celtics duo.

Did Charles Barkley criticize Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum for being “terrible” shooters?

In November 2023, before there was any indication that the Boston Celtics would emerge as the NBA champions, Charles Barkley was amongst the first to make the prediction. However, this belief did not stem out from any performances that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown delivered at that time. Instead, the ‘Inside the NBA’ host claimed that Jrue Holiday’s inclusion is the factor that would turn things around for the Celtics.

“For me, the reason I pick the Celtics to win the Championship, and I have seen nothing. I thought that Jrue Holiday was going to help Jayson and Jaylen, coz they take terrible shots at times. I think he is gonna put them in better positions to score, so they don’t have to take terrible shots,” said Barkley.

By the time the regular season came to an end, Barkley may have had to eat up his words. After all, Jayson Tatum ended up averaging 9.1-19.3 field goals (47.1%), 3.1-8.2 three-pointers (37.6%), and 5.6-6.7 free throws (83.3%), while Brown averaged 9.0-17.9 field goals (49.9%), 2.1-5.9 three-pointers (35.4%), and 3-4.3 free throws (70.3%). In comparison, Holiday’s attempts could not even reach the same level as he averaged 4.8-10.0 field goals (48%), 2-4.7 three-pointers (42.9%), and 0.9-1 free throws (83.3%). Brown and Tatum’s performance only increased in the playoffs.

Therefore, it’s pretty ironic that even Jrue Holiday was selected on the Team USA squad, and ended up getting the fourth-highest playing minutes per game.