The Memphis Grizzlies caught a stray from Jayson Tatum that seemingly came out of nowhere.
The Boston Celtics star appeared on a recent episode of “The Pivot” podcast and spoke candidly about the challenges of playing for such a historic franchise. Tatum named a few of his Celtics predecessors and the expectation of winning in Boston.
The 6-time All-Star had an interesting way of illustrating his point.
“The career I have right now, if I had it with the Grizzlies, I would have a statue outside the arena,” said Tatum. “But now, I’m chasing people like Larry Bird where the standard is so much higher.”
Fans couldn’t help but chuckle at Tatum taking an inadvertent shot at the Grizzlies, who remain one of 10 NBA teams that have yet to win a championship.
Us Memphis fans right now: pic.twitter.com/sMfW9mZYvz
— Andrew Haner (@AndrewDHaner) January 27, 2026
Memphis: pic.twitter.com/I73mrpMREd
— n a t a l i e (@nataliethehero) January 27, 2026
Memphis just minding its own business pic.twitter.com/CD3muPMW3z
— Detroit Deadpool (@DetroitDeadpool) January 28, 2026
Jokes aside, Tatum does have a point. The reverence that Dallas Mavericks fans have for Dirk Nowitzki or even Toronto Raptors supporters have for Kawhi Leonard is clear after the two superstars brought their respective franchises their first championship.
Had Tatum done the same for the Grizzlies, he probably would have already earned a statue to be built years after his retirement. However, one could argue that some of Tatum’s success is partly because he plays for a legacy franchise like the Celtics, who operate with the same expectation of contending that Tatum mentioned.
Look no further than the current Celtics, who remain a top-3 team in the East despite Tatum having yet to play a single game for the team this season. Does the franchise make the player, or do the players make the franchise? It’s usually some mix of both.
